Tabilo saves 2 CPs, stuns Musetti to win Chengdu title

  • Posted: Sep 23, 2025

Alejandro Tabilo saved two championship points on Tuesday at the Chengdu Open, where he overcame top seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) to capture his third ATP Tour title and first of the season.

The Chilean qualifier saved two championship points on serve at 5-6 in the third set and then rallied from 1/4 in the deciding-set tie-break to become the second-lowest-ranked ATP Tour champion this season.

“I just had to stay there mentally and physically,” Tabilo said. “I was so happy to make those first serves on match points. It was an incredible effort from the team also. It has been a long two weeks and I am just so happy.”

Tabilo lost his opening six matches of the year and missed two months of the European clay swing due to a wrist injury. Arriving in Chengdu with a 5-13 record on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Tabilo found his best level to triumph at the ATP 250 event.

It All Adds Up

In a tight final against Musetti, Tabilo struck eight fewer winners (29-37) and committed 21 more unforced errors (44-23) than the Italian, but found the bigger shots down the home straight to record victory after two hours and 37 minutes in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

Musetti was aiming to capture his first tour-level title since Naples in 2022, but failed to convert his opportunities in the third set. Tabilo saved the first match point with a forehand winner and the second when Musetti hit long off a rally ball. Tabilo sealed victory on his first match point, with his girlfriend and team rushing onto court after he sealed his third Top 10 win.

Tabilo is now a three-time tour-level titlist, having won in Auckland and Mallorca last year. He is up 40 spots to No. 72 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set to return to the Top 100 for the first time since June.

Musetti leaves Chengdu up one spot in seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The Italian is aiming to make his debut on home soil at the Nitto ATP Finals in November and join countryman Jannik Sinner, who has already qualified for the prestigious year-end event.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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