The long-distance race

Seeded No. 1 and 2 respectively, Musetti and FAA have a lot at stake as the year winds down, and they could meet in the final at this tournament.

I felt Musetti was very tense and a bit too focused on the points and the stakes in the match against FAA. He was already talking about it before the match and kept doing so after losing—the guy really only thinks about that and I’m not a fan. He’s going to want to play every tournament and will be tight every time one of his matches doesn’t go well; it reminds me of that year when Hurkacz tried everything to qualify and his on-court attitude wasn’t good—he couldn’t take it anymore. We’ll see if Musetti handles things better, but based on what he’s saying, I don’t like it much. The other unknown at the end of this season is his level indoors; he’s made progress on outdoor hard but otherwise still lacks experience on it. It’s even faster than outdoor hard, his backhand gets rushed more quickly, and there’s less room for him to showcase his defense—I’ll need to see it to believe it. And in the first round he’ll play the dangerous (and in-form) Hanfmann. The German beat Arnaldi in a high-level match; he got pushed around for a good set and a half but never gave in, and he can count on an impeccable serve and a forward-moving game that’ll be useful against Musetti. In terms of the match-up, you think about Musetti’s defensive quality that can kind of make Hanfmann crack, but as I said, indoors it’s not as straightforward for him to shine in that area. The Italian will have to take the initiative with his forehand and stop Hanfmann from dictating too much—easier said than done, especially with the tension.