Tsitsipas and Rublev, among the pursuers of the Live Race in North America | ATP Tour

PIF ATP Live Race to Turin

Tsitsipas and Rublev, among the pursuers of the Live Race in North America

Only 575 points separate eighth-placed Tsitsipas from 14th-placed Musetti

August 06, 2024

Seven months into the 2024 season, a seven-way battle for eighth place has emerged in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

The world’s top players are preparing for an ATP Masters 1000 double-header at the Omnium Banque National presented by Rogers in Montreal and the Cincinnati Open. Several members of the chasing pack will be eager to give a mid-season boost to their chances of booking a place at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, which take place in Turin from November 10-17.

With plenty of points up for grabs in Montreal and Cincinnati, the Race Live could look completely different in two weeks’ time. As it stands, just 575 points separate Stefanos Tsitsipas, eighth (the last qualifying spot for the prestigious season finale), from Lorenzo Musetti, 14th.

PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

A champion on his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2019, Tsitsipas is chasing his sixth consecutive appearance at the season-ending event. He lifted his third Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown in April but has not won a match at the Omnium Banque National presented by Rogers since 2021. He did, however, reach the final on his debut at the event in Toronto in 2018, and is also a former Cincinnati finalist (2022). Tsitsipas knows that a big two weeks in North America could distance him from the chasing pack.

Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, ranked ninth and 10th respectively, will be hoping a return to familiar territory will help them edge closer to qualifying for Turin. Fritz, who is 135 points behind Tsitsipas, has not made it past the third round in five appearances at the Canadian Masters 1000 but is a two-time quarter-finalist in Cincinnati and has a habit of raising his game at home – the 26-year-old won his first Masters 1000 at Indian Wells in 2022.

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Paul defeated then-World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz on his way to his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Toronto last year. Despite a modest 5-5 record in Cincinnati, the three-time ATP Tour champion is playing some of the best tennis of his career and will see the return to hard courts as a great opportunity to boost his bid for a Turin debut.

Like Tsitsipas, 11th-ranked Andrey Rublev has established himself as a regular at the Nitto ATP Finals. The No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings has had a wild 2024, but remains in contention for a fifth consecutive appearance in the season’s final week. In Montreal, where he hasn’t won a match in his previous two appearances, he’ll be hoping to consolidate his quarterfinal berth in Washington last week.

Currently ranked 12th, former Cincinnati champion Grigor Dimitrov is aiming to return to the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time since triumphing in his only previous appearance in 2017. Just 185 points behind the Bulgarian in 13th place is his good friend Hubert Hurkacz. Both players have enjoyed consistent seasons so far and have won one ATP Tour title each (Dimitrov in Brisbane, Hurkacz in Estoril).

Top seed Jannik Sinner in Montreal leads the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is in a strong position to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. Could 14th-ranked Musetti give home fans a second Italian contender to cheer for in November in Turin?

Musetti, 22, has enjoyed a stellar summer, winning 22 of 28 matches since Roland Garros began in late May. He reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon in July and last week claimed bronze at Paris 2024, Italy’s first medal at the Olympic tennis event in 100 years. Although he is 7-9 on hard courts this year, Musetti’s recent progress will allow him to enter Montreal with plenty of confidence.