Felix Auger-Aliassime does not shorten the Tuscan who remains 8th, but the race towards Turin is more open than ever: Djokovic’s participation is still uncertain, with Shelton’s shoulder discomfort to be assessed
The dream of having two Italians at the Finals in Turin is more alive than ever. Lorenzo Musetti is almost there to join the already obviously qualified Jannik Sinner among the eight masters of 2025, and the race for the last places is more open than ever. The Tuscan, currently eighth, has a solid lead that he must maintain from now until November 2nd, the day of the Paris 1000 final. There are around 2000 points still up for grabs, and there are many contenders on paper, fewer in reality.
djokovic unknown
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Two places have already been officially assigned for Turin (Carlos Alcaraz and as mentioned Jannik Sinner) but Novak Djokovic (third with 4580 points) and Alexander Zverev (fourth with 4280 points) have practically guaranteed places. Regarding the Serbian champion there is always the unknown of his participation. In Shanghai Nole clearly said that he is sure of playing the ATP in Athens (literally his tournament) and that he is not sure of being at the Finals. In Greece they play the week before Turin, so logic says that Djokovic is unlikely to play both, but the former no.1 is used to surprises, so who knows. Nole’s withdrawal would free up a place, a non-marginal detail, but another protagonist of the season is also currently in doubt.
three places in a few places
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In fact, if last year’s finalist Taylor Fritz (3835 points) is calm in fifth place, in sixth place is Ben Shelton (3720 points) struggling with a complicated shoulder problem that has tormented him since the US Open. The American, therefore, could (as Jack Draper did) decide to give up what would be the first Finals of his career and think about 2026 and not risk worsening the injury, but for now it remains confirmed. Shelton’s advantage, however, has become increasingly thinner in recent weeks. In fact, at just 175 points, there is number 7, Alex de Minaur, in great shape. At 3435 points, therefore also not far from the two in front, there is Lorenzo Musetti, on paper for now the last qualified for Turin.
the pursuers
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The Carrarino has an advantage of 530 points over his closest pursuer, which would be Felix Auger-Aliassime. Both of these weeks they will play the 250 in Brussels, and therefore in a few days we will have a clearer picture of the situation. If Musetti were to do better or equal to the Canadian, his chances for Turin would increase significantly, in view of the last 500 of the season (Lorenzo will go to Vienna, Auger-Aliassime to Basel). Behind them, there are many in the running but only on paper. The closest, Casper Ruud, is almost 1000 points behind Musetti and given the season, it is difficult to do so well indoors. Holger Rune (twelfth with 2490 points) had his big chance in Shanghai, but he too was a victim of Valentin Vacherot’s fairy tale. The Dane and the Norwegian are competing in the 250 in Stockholm this week, but they seem really distant. The same goes for Rublev (2420) and Bublik (2395), but you never know: the Kazakh above all could pull some unexpected surprises out of the hat.
and medvedev?
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The revived Daniil Medvedev, fifteenth at 2360 points, might deserve a separate discussion. On paper, the Russian could have a great end to the season, given that these are the courses he loves (or loved, at least), but it seems unlikely that a player who hasn’t won a tournament for more than 2 years will suddenly start scoring the points needed to go to Turin: he should start straight away, starting in Almaty this week, and then win at least a 500 and then the 1000 in Paris. Not impossible, but frankly unrealistic.
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