Felix Auger-Aliassime’s decision to withdraw from the Moselle Open has put him at risk of being overtaken by Lorenzo Musetti in the ATP Rankings Race To Turin, but he may have taken a strategic decision.
The Canadian pushed himself into contention by reaching the semi-final of the US Open, and the quarter-finals at the Shanghai Masters and the Swiss Indoors before moving into a qualification spot by finishing runner-up at the Paris Masters.
Auger-Aliassime’s run to the final helped him to overtake Musetti in the ATP Rankings Race To Turin with the top eight qualifying, but the battle between the two was down to go down to the wire as they separated by just 160 points.
The world No 8 was due to be in action in Metz this week while Musetti has signed up for the Hellenic Championships, but the 25-year-old is one of three seeded playerse to withdraw from the ATP 250 event in France as Daniil Medvedev (No 2) and Tallon Griekspoor (No 5) have also pulled out.
“I won’t be going,” said. “I’ve been struggling with a lot of physical issues this week. I’m not going to make the same mistakes I made in the past. My physical condition and health are really my priority, above qualifying.”
He added: “If I qualify, great. If not, Lorenzo will deserve his place.”
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Although Auger-Aliassime is quite relaxed about potentially missing out, he could still play at the season-ending tournament in Turin even if he finishes ninth in the Race.
That is because seven-time ATP Finals champion Novak Djokovic could withdraw from the event.
The tennis great was the third player to secure his ticket to the event at the Inalpi Arena after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, but he has made it clear that the ATP Finals is no longer his top priority.
After winning back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, Djokovic also qualified for last year’s edition, but withdrew from the event and he has so far given no indication that he will feature in Turin.
If Djokovic does indeed withdraw, it will mean both Auger-Aliassime and Musetti will play in Turin.
Musetti, though, faces an uphill task to overtake his rival as he needs to reach at least the final of the Greek event to overtake Auger-Aliassime and qualify outright for the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
Don’t be too surprised if Musetti also withdraws from the Hellenic Championships in the coming days to start preparing for the ATP Finals.
The post Felix Auger-Aliassime explains ATP Finals gamble, but it may be strategic as Novak Djokovic decision looms appeared first on Tennis365.
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