Musetti carves path to Chengdu redemption
Under Chengdu's evening haze, Lorenzo Musetti tempers a rival's fury with unflinching control, his strokes whispering of a title long denied as semifinals summon deeper resolve.
In the thickening dusk of Chengdu, where the hard courts drink in the day's heat and exhale it as a subtle challenge, Lorenzo Musetti dismantled Nikoloz Basilashvili's onslaught with a 6-3, 6-3 verdict that felt inevitable yet hard-won. The top seed's game unfolded like a controlled symphony, his one-handed backhand weaving underspin to blunt the Georgian's flat bombs, turning aggression into opportunity over 76 minutes of taut exchange. This triumph seals his third straight semifinal at the Chengdu Open, a venue that has cradled his ambitions since a last-four finish in 2023 and a runner-up heartbreak in 2024, now with a record seven victories etched into its ledger.
Musetti tames Basilashvili's storm
The duel ignited with Basilashvili's signature charge, his penetrating returns probing for cracks in the Italian's armor, but Musetti absorbed the pressure, redirecting with crosscourt depth that stretched the court wide. A one–two rhythm—serve deep into the body followed by an inside-out forehand—kept points crisp, forcing the Georgian into 36 unforced errors against Musetti's mere 14, the crowd's murmurs swelling as the second set's breaks came without reply. That mental tether, forged in their Wimbledon reversal earlier this year, leveled their Lexus ATP Head2Head at 2-2, Basilashvili's power meeting its match in the top seed's poise.
2023 - SF
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 21, 2025
2024 - 🥈
2025 - SF
Top seed @Lorenzo1Musetti continues to shine in China 6-3 6-3 over Basilashvili @ChengduOpen | #ChengduOpen pic.twitter.com/0vjTw8jRgy
“I knew it was a tricky opponent, I lost against him this year at Wimbledon,” said Musetti, who levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Basilashvili at 2-2. “He’s really aggressive, so you have to stay focused on every point. I felt he was playing good tennis, but I managed to stay there, especially on my serve, and I’m very happy to be in the semis. I [will be] ready for the battle.”
His serve stood as the evening's quiet sentinel, varying placement to evade returns and set up down-the-line passes that pinned Basilashvili back, the humid air amplifying each thud as fans leaned forward, sensing the shift from skirmish to supremacy.
Race to Turin gains momentum
With this victory, Musetti's 2025 tally climbs to 32-13 on the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, leaping him past Alex de Minaur into seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, the Nitto ATP Finals' shadow lengthening enticingly on the horizon. At 23, he chases a debut at that elite gathering, and lifting the Chengdu trophy would narrow the gap to Taylor Fritz in sixth to 145 points, the math as sharp as his sliced backhand. The courts here, with their medium pace and true bounce, cradle his elegant variations—looping topspin forehands crosscourt easing into inside-in surprises—transforming a season of near-misses into tangible surge.
Ahead lies Alexander Shevchenko, who ground down qualifier Taro Daniel 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2, his baseline steadiness a puzzle that demands Musetti probe with drop shots and angle changes, the Italian's focus sharpening against the tournament's mounting pulse.
Bottom draw ignites comebacks
Across the bracket, Brandon Nakashima survived an all-American fray against Marcos Giron, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3), his flat groundstrokes finding edges in the third-set tiebreak after teetering at 4-5, 40/40 on serve, marking his third semifinal this year following Acapulco and Houston. The 24-year-old's clutch play echoes the draw's undercurrent of grit, now pitting him against Alejandro Tabilo, who surged from qualifying to top Christopher O’Connell 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, his first last-four since Mallorca last June. Tabilo, rebounding from wrist and abdominal injuries that clouded his early 2025, has flared on these Chinese hard courts—finalist in Guangzhou last week, rising 20 spots to No. 92 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings—his lefty topspin forehands promising to test Nakashima's precision in a clash of renewed fire.
“I’m just so happy right now, especially coming from the qualies, it’s an unreal feeling,” said Tabilo. “I’ve been doing pretty good here in China. I’ve been loving it here.”
As the semifinals dawn, Chengdu's lights will cast long shadows over battles where psychology bends to tactics, Musetti's quest for the elusive crown pulling the field into its gravitational pull, each point a step toward season-altering light.
