Lorenzo Musetti's five-word reaction to Novak Djokovic gifting him ATP Finals spot

It's been a stressful week for Lorenzo Musetti, but the Italian has finally got what he wanted - a spot in the ATP Finals. Musetti seemed primed to qualify for the season-ending championships for the first time in his career, but he suffered an early exit at the recent Paris Masters and was overtaken by Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Race to Turin.

Musetti headed to the ATP 250 event in Athens with his fate in his own hands. Win the title and he'd qualify for the ATP Finals; any other result and Auger-Aliassime would get the last spot in the draw. The world No. 9 ultimately lost to Novak Djokovic in the final, but Djokovic then withdrew from the year-end Finals, which allowed Musetti to take his place anyway.

The Italian had a quick turnaround after suffering a tight 4-6 6-3 7-5 defeat in Saturday's Athens final as he had to jet straight to Turin for the ATP Finals, where he faces Taylor Fritz on Monday afternoon.

Taking to social media after his spot in the draw was confirmed, the 23-year-old wrote: "A dream that comes true." Musetti also shared a photo of himself and his team en route to Italy.

The world No. 9 had been bidding to win his third career title - and his first since 2022 - at the Hellenic Championship. Musetti had already lost in two other finals this season and took another heartbreaking loss in Athens.

However, he was all smiles when he embraced Djokovic at the end of the match. Some questioned whether Musetti had already received some good news about the ATP Finals - and he did.

"Novak told me on the court that he won't be going to Turin. I'm not sure how to feel now after a loss in the final, but Novak told me that," the Italian said after the match.

Musetti has since arrived at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, where he defended Djokovic's decision to wait until the last minute to withdraw. "Well, I think Novak, he was completely in the rules of the ATP, of the tournament itself," he said.

"Of course, I think the strange situation was that he was playing literally the week before the [tournament]. That could be a little bit strange for a player who is already qualified. But that's the only thing.

"Of course, when he told me at the net after the match that he was not coming, honestly we had a laugh about it. I was curious all week. I was curious if he was coming or not. Of course, I was trying to focus on myself. I think I made a good work at that, even if I didn't win the final."

Djokovic's withdrawal also left the ATP scrambling to find a new alternate. Had the Serbian superstar remained in the draw, Musetti would have been the first alternate, and Alexander Bublik the second alternate.

Once Musetti replaced Djokovic, Bublik became the first alternate, and tournament organisers needed to find another potential substitute.

World No. 10 Casper Ruud - who was the next man behind Bublik in the race - answered the call. The Norwegian was enjoying an off-season holiday just a few days ago, but he flew to Turin to be the second alternate and was spotted watching Carlos Alcaraz's match against Alex de Minaur on Sunday.

Ruud also arrived sporting a new look and was photographed with a buzzcut. As the alternates, Bublik and Ruud will receive £118k without playing a match. Their appearance fees increase if they must step in and play a match.