Nole thus bids farewell to Lorenzo after beating him in Athens, taking away his chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. But then he doesn’t make the decision official during the awards ceremony
A very tight final, which lasted almost three hours, with the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in the background. Lorenzo Musetti in the 250 in Athens was not only playing for a trophy that he has been missing for too long but also the possibility of overtaking the Canadian Roger-Aliassime at the last minute in eighth place in the Race, which gives him the right to play in the Finals. The beater was the highlander Nole Djokovic, number 4 in the Race who, however, after winning the 101st tournament of his career, said to Musetti in the classic greeting at the net: “Don’t worry, I’m not going to Turin anyway”.
During the ceremony, Djokovic was expected to make an official announcement, but instead he limited himself to complimenting Musetti and thanking the tournament organisation. In fact a tribute to himself, given that the ATP 250 in Athens is none other than the event that Nole took away from Belgrade and which his brother Djordje technically organizes. So Djokovic: “I don’t know where to start. First of all respect for Lorenzo, a few words about your wonderful performance. We all know what it means to play such close matches and lose after 3 hours of great tennis. The positive thing is your exceptional tennis, it’s the proof. We have played against each other on different surfaces, you play the best on clay… but you have improved so much that the future will be bright. You have improved a lot on this surface. Thanks to the people of Athens, the Greeks for the enthusiasm. This is the first time that Greece has a tournament like that, but I hope this tournament stays here for a long time. I would like to thank my team, veramey3nw special week. Everyone is here, thanks to them. You have shown passion and attention.
muzzle
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Musetti had previously spoken: “It’s difficult to talk after playing 3 hours against him. Thank you all. For an atmosphere that is special, I hope to be able to return. Nole, I have no more words to say who you are… I am honored to have shared the court with you. It was a beautiful location, beautiful central court. I wish you many more tournaments in Greece. Thanks to my team, to my family. I will try to win in the final soon.”
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