After what felt like an eternity on the sidelines, Alejandro Tabilo has made a comeback for the ages. The Chilean tennis player, who had been battling through the frustrations of a long injury layoff, pulled off an incredible upset win over Lorenzo Musetti saving two championship points on Tuesday at the Chengdu Open, to win 6-3 2-6, 7-6(5), securing his third ATP Tour title and his first for the season.
The qualifier saved two championship points while serving at 5-6 in the final set and then rallied from a 1/4 deficit in the deciding-set tie-break to become the second-lowest-ranked ATP Tour champion this year.
After losing his first six matches of the year and missing two months during the European clay swing due to a wrist injury, Tabilo arrived in Chengdu with a 5-13 season record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, but managed to find his best form to win at the ATP 250 event.
In a closely contested final against Musetti, Tabilo hit eight fewer winners (29-37) and committed 21 more unforced errors (44-23) than the Italian, but produced the crucial shots at critical moments to achieve victory after two hours and 37 minutes in their first match.
Musetti was seeking to win his first tour-level title since Naples in 2022 but was unable to capitalize on his chances in the final set. Tabilo saved the first match point with a forehand winner and the second when Musetti made an error by hitting long during a rally. Tabilo clinched the victory on his first match point, with his girlfriend and team rushing onto the court as he celebrated his third win against a Top 10 player.
Now a three-time tour-level champion, after winning in Auckland and Mallorca last year, he has risen 40 spots to No. #72 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings to re-enter the top #100 for the first time since June.
Musetti exits Chengdu having moved up one position to seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The Italian is hoping to make his debut on home soil at the Nitto ATP Finals in November and join his fellow countryman Jannik Sinner, who has already qualified for the year-end event.
Main Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
