Musetti Breaks Through in Lyon: First Title Since 2022
Lorenzo Musetti ended a long drought on Sunday, defeating second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-4 in the final of the Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes in Lyon. It’s the 24-year-old Italian’s third tour-level title and his first since 2022, when he won in Hamburg and Naples. The victory also snapped a seven-match losing streak in tour-level finals.
The title run was far from easy. The sixth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti needed more than three hours to get past France’s Luca Van Assche in the quarterfinals, then saved four match points in the semifinals against countryman Flavio Cobolli. By the time he reached the final, he said, his body was aching.
“Before I stepped on the court I was feeling pain everywhere,” Lorenzo Musetti said. “But when I stepped on court I started to focus on the match, and the tennis, I think, was my best.”
The final itself was a stark contrast to his earlier matches. Musetti broke serve early in both sets and hit winners off both wings, while Fritz committed 28 unforced errors. Musetti closed it out in 80 minutes, then dropped to the court in celebration before meeting Fritz at the net.
“The spirit of the fight was the key for this tournament,” Lorenzo Musetti went on to say. “It is such a dream I don’t want to wake up.”
The win comes in a season interrupted by injuries, though Lorenzo Musetti did reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January and again in Cincinnati in August. He is now the fourth Italian man to win a tour-level title in 2026, joining Jannik Sinner, Cobolli and Luciano Darderi. He improved to 5-3 against Fritz in their head-to-head and rose two spots to #24 in the live rankings.
Fritz, who had not dropped a set all week, remains in the hunt for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals. He sits 12th in the ATP Race to Turin and will next play in Basel.
Medvedev Finishes On Top in Almaty for 25th Career ATP Title
Daniil Medvedev defended a tour-level title for the first time in his career Sunday. Beating Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7(6) 6-1 6-3 in the final of the Almaty Open. The top seed, who also won the event a year ago, picked up the 25th title of his career.
Medvedev failed to convert a set point in the first-set tiebreaker, but he took control from there, using his defense to neutralize Basilashvili’s power in the second set and then attacking in the decider.
“It was not easy, but I had my chances in the first set,” Medvedev said. “I knew I would probably have my chances to turn the match around.”
Medvedev dropped no sets in his first three matches. He beat Sho Shimabukuro in the second round and Terrance Atmane in the quarterfinals, then advanced to the final when Alexander Bublik retired after losing the first set 6-3 in the semifinals. Medvedev said facing a hurt Bublik gave him a boost.
“Sascha [Bublik] being injured in the semis gave me an extra push in the final, and I am happy to finally do it,” he said.
Medvedev entered 2026 facing questions about his consistency, but the 30-year-old has answered with four titles, also winning in Brisbane, Dubai and Hangzhou. Only Jannik Sinner, with six, has won more this season.
The Almaty title moved Medvedev into fifth place in the ATP Race to Turin, putting him in a strong position to return to the Nitto ATP Finals after missing out last year. He next plays in Vienna.
Basilashvili, 34, was playing in his first tour-level final since 2022. He will climb 30 spots to #98, returning to the top 100 for the first time since February 2023.
Griekspoor Triumphs in Brussels: First Title of the Season
Tallon Griekspoor completed a week of comebacks Sunday, beating Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 6-3 6-4 to win the European Open in Brussels. It was the fourth tour-level title of his career and his first since Mallorca last June. The Dutchman, ranked #60, came back from a set down in his last three matches of the week.
Along the way, Griekspoor upset second seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals and third seed Francisco Cerundolo in the semifinals. In the final, he found his rhythm behind his serve after dropping the opening set. He faced no break points in the second set and won 84% of his first-serve points for the match. The decisive moment came at 4-4 in the third set, when he broke a tight Struff service game before serving out the match.
“Another big fight. Very, very challenging match again,” Griekspoor said. “I don’t know how it went my way. I just tried to stay in there and found some good tennis towards the end of the match.”
The win improved Griekspoor to 4-0 against Struff in their head-to-head. Struff, 36, was bidding for his second tour-level title of the year and a chance to become the second-oldest champion of the year behind Novak Djokovic, who won in Beijing earlier this month. The German upset sixth seed Zizou Bergs and top seed Arthur Fils en route to the final.
The Last Word
While the WTA’s top eight are already locked in for next month’s tour finals, the ATP race is still wide open, with 17 players in contention for a spot in Turin.
Two compelling 500-level events in Vienna and Basel will serve as the perfect appetizer before the season’s final ATP 1000 begins in Paris next week. Americans Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Brandon Nakashima are all on the outside looking in, chasing fellow countryman Frances Tiafoe, who currently holds the eighth and final spot.
Rafael Jodar sits fewer than 200 points back. If he qualifies and wins, he would be the youngest champion since John McEnroe took the title at 19 in 1978.
At the other end of the age spectrum, Novak Djokovic, roughly 300 points behind Tiafoe, would be chasing his own record. In 2023, he became the oldest ATP Finals champion ever at 36. Plenty of storylines will fuel the next month of play. Can Alexander Zverev reclaim the #1 ranking? Could a dark horse like Alejandro Davidovich Fokina crash the field? And what kind of form will Carlos Alcaraz bring down the stretch.
It’s going to be fun.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports