Musetti, Paul seal Queen's final spot

Lorenzo Musetti became just the fifth Italian man to reach a grass-court tour-level final on Saturday at the cinch Championships, where he moved past Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in London.

The 22-year-old opened his shoulders to hit through his groundstrokes in the fast conditions, producing an impressive display in the third set to advance to his third ATP Tour final. Musetti struck 14 winners and hit just four unforced errors in the decider according to ATP Infosys Stats, roaring in delight after sealing victory on his first match point.

"It was one of the toughest matches of the week," Musetti said. "Jordan was playing amazing, especially in the second and third sets. It was a really tough match. I am really proud of my achievement. I love this sport."

Musetti, who is up five spots to No. 25 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, holds a perfect two-from-two record in tour-level finals and will hope to improve that record when he meets Tommy Paul in the title match on Sunday.

Musetti has battled hard all week at The Queen’s Club, where he has also defeated Alex de Minaur and Brandon Nakashima in three sets. He holds a 7-1 record on grass this year, having advanced to the semi-finals in Stuttgart last week.

Thompson was aiming to reach his fourth tour-level final on grass. The 30-year-old enjoyed runs to the championship match in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2019 and 2023.

Lorenzo 🤝 London@Lorenzo1Musetti books his 1st grass final in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 thriller with Thompson @QueensTennis | #cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/w8bs65FaNA

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 22, 2024

Paul defeated countryman Sebastian Korda 6-4, 7-6(1) to advance to his sixth tour-level final and third of the season.

"I am happy and I feel every time I step on grass I learn something and play a little better," Paul said. "I felt like I did a pretty good job today."

The fifth seed, who triumphed in Dallas earlier this year, recovered from squandering a 5-2 lead in the second set to eventually seal his win in the second-set tie-break. With his victory, Paul avenged his quarter-final defeat to Korda in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last week, improving to 2-4 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

The 27-year-old will surpass Taylor Fritz and become the new American No. 1 if he captures his third ATP Tour trophy against Musetti.

Korda also lost in the semi-finals at Queen's last year. The 23-year-old is 7-2 on grass in 2024, having fallen in the title match in 's-Hertogenbosch.