Lorenzo Musetti is into the final of the Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in Lyon. In the semifinal he beat Flavio Cobolli, the world number 6, 4-6 6-2 7-5. Today at 14:30 he faces Taylor Fritz, who won the other semifinal against Tommy Paul 6-3 7-5.
The match against Cobolli was a proper Italian derby, and it turned into a comeback. Musetti lost the first set 6-4, shifted gears in the second to win it 6-2 and closed out the third 7-5. It is his second win over Cobolli in two meetings: the first came in the third round of the 2025 U.S. Open, 6-3 6-2 with his opponent retiring at 2-0 in the third set.
The result matters for the rankings too. Musetti is number 26 in the ATP ranking with 2,035 live points, which include the 165 guaranteed by reaching the final. With the title he would move up to 2,120. He has 215 points to defend over the next six weeks, so every extra round at the end of the season helps: compared with 27 July he has dropped 11 places, after reaching a best of number 13 on 3 August 2026.
Musetti's week in Lyon began with a 6-1 6-4 win over Matteo Arnaldi in his opener. In the round of 16 he beat Moïse Kouamé 6-4 6-4, and in the quarterfinals he got past Luca Van Assche 7-6(5) 6-7(7) 6-4, the longest match of his run before the clash with Cobolli.
The quarterfinal against the Frenchman deserves a replay. Musetti won the first set in a tie-break, lost the second in another tie-break, 9-7, and settled it in the third 6-4. It is a fair summary of a week in which the tournament has seen 26 matches played, 16 tie-breaks and 12 matches going to a deciding set.
On the other side of the net is an opponent with more than one final on his résumé. Taylor Fritz, 29, reached the last act by winning all three matches he has played since the round of 16 in straight sets: 6-2 7-5 over Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 7-6(5) 6-2 over Daniel Altmaier in the quarterfinals and 6-3 7-5 over Tommy Paul in the semifinal.
For Fritz this is a season of ups and downs. In 2026 he won the Washington 500 and reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and Cincinnati, but he has gone out early in recent events: third round in Shanghai, where he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 7-5 6-3, and third round in Tokyo too, against Jaume Munar. In his last ten matches he is 6-4, the same as Musetti.
The head-to-head favors the Italian: Musetti leads 2-1. Fritz won the first meeting, in the first round of Wimbledon 2022, 6-4 6-4 6-3. Then came two Musetti wins: the second round of the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 with a double 6-4 and above all the 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinals, won 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2 3-6 6-1 in five sets. According to the site's data, they have not met since.
The numbers show two different careers. Across the 2021-2025 seasons Fritz went 175-81, or 68 percent, with 6 titles and 10 finals on the main tour. In the same period Musetti is 131-106, or 55 percent, with 2 titles and 8 finals. In 2025 their records were close, 44 wins and 20 losses for Musetti and 44-19 for Fritz, but the American won 2 titles and the Italian none.
On indoor hard courts, the surface in Lyon, the numbers do not favor Musetti. Fritz is 12-11 indoors in completed seasons from 2021 to 2025, Musetti 17-21. It says little about the present, but it is a reminder that the Italian will have to do something extra to break the rhythm of a match on a fast surface.
The tournament has made for a special week for Italy. Five Italians were in the draw and Musetti is the only one left. Matteo Arnaldi lost to him in the opening round, Lorenzo Sonego went out to Moïse Kouamé 7-6(2) 6-4 and Matteo Berrettini fell to Kyrian Jacquet 7-6(4) 7-5. Cobolli had gone further than the others, all the way to the semifinal.
For Cobolli the loss costs little in the rankings but a lot in morale. He reached the semifinal by beating Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-4 in the round of 16 and Brandon Nakashima 4-6 6-4 6-4 in the quarterfinals, after reaching the semifinal in Cincinnati and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. With 3,740 live points, including the 100 for the semifinal, he is number 6: Daniil Medvedev is ahead of him by 20 points.
The tournament had surprising moments away from the Italians too. The longest match was Daniel Altmaier against Titouan Droguet, won by the German 5-7 7-6(4) 7-6(3) in 38 games, while Corentin Moutet beat Ugo Humbert 6-2 6-7(5) 7-6(4) in the opening round before losing to Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals. The site also notes that no set ended 6-0 and that there was not a single retirement in the whole tournament.
What kind of match should we expect? Musetti has the edge in the head-to-head and arrives with two third-set wins in four rounds, which means many hours on court but also confidence in long matches. Fritz reached the final winning all three matches since the round of 16 in two sets: a physical advantage that can count at the end of a season. The winner takes 250 points, the finalist 165.
If Musetti wins, he would go up to 2,120 live points and end a 2025 without titles that included three lost finals and 44 wins. For Fritz, victory would be worth 3,130 live points and would consolidate his position in the upper part of the ATP ranking.
Whatever the outcome, the final closes a week that confirms Musetti's good end to the season: two third-set wins, over Van Assche and Cobolli, and the chance to leave Lyon with a trophy. His ranking will depend a lot on what happens over the next six weeks, with 215 points to defend.
Test yourself
3 questions on what you have just read.
1. Who did Musetti beat in the Lyon semifinal?
2. What was the score of the semifinal?
3. What is the head-to-head between Musetti and Fritz?