Battle of the single-handed backhands on Wednesday.
No. 2 seed Lorenzo Musetti begins his campaign at the 2025 Hellenic Championship in Athens with a mouth-watering tussle against Swiss icon Stan Wawrinka. The Italian is searching for a maiden ATP Finals qualification this year, and has the challenging task of overcoming the 40-year-old in his very first test. The winner of this encounter will face either Alexandre Muller or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarterfinals. With the help of BetMGM, we look to break down this contest for you.
World No. 9 Lorenzo Musetti is searching for his first title of the season. It has been a year of ‘so close, yet so far’ for the 23-year-old thus far. Despite reaching the final in Monte Carlo and three consecutive clay courts semifinals right after, Musetti failed to take the extra leap of faith. After struggling in July and August, the Italian reached the US Open quarterfinals and Chengdu Open summit clash. Having gained more hard court momentum in Vienna, Musetti’s 41-19 record puts him in pole position.
On the other side of the net, Stanislas Wawrinka will be keen on showing Musetti who the boss of single-handed backhands is. The 40-year-old veteran is a three-time Grand Slam champion. By defeating Botic Van de Zandschulp 2-6 7-6(5) 7-5 in the Round of 32, Wawrinka earned just his fourth tour-level win of 2025. With Round of 16 appearances at Bucharest, Umag and Basel being his best outings, there are no surprises that Wawrinka sits at No. 159 in the world at the moment.
Lorenzo Musetti leads the head-to-head against Stan Wawrinka by 1-0. Their last meeting was over five years ago – at the 2020 Rome Masters in Italy.
| Event | Round | Winner | Score |
| 2020 Rome | Round of 64 | Lorenzo Musetti | 6-0 7-6(2) |
| Lorenzo Musetti | Category | Stan Wawrinka |
| 9 | Current Ranking | 159 |
| 173-130 | Career W-L Record | 582-375 |
| 41-19 | YTD W-L Record | 4-12 |
| 2 | Career Titles | 16 |
| 0 | YTD Titles | 0 |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 3 |
Musetti and Wawrinka both enjoy playing the long haul – which is why this encounter is likely to extend to a deciding set. It will be interesting to see if the Italian young gun opts to target Wawrinka’s backhand and risk being on the receiving end of his down-the-line attacks. Meanwhile, the Swiss maestro is likely to vary the pace and bounce, and refrain from being too defensive due to his physical constraints.
Prediction: Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets.
Musetti (1/5) is a clear favorite and Wawrinka is the underdog (18/5) in the ATP Hellenic Championship Athens 2025. According to the implied probability on the money line, the Italian has an 80% chance of winning. Here are the odds (as per BetMGM):
(According to BetMGM: BetMGM offers exclusive promo codes, bonus deals and accurate odds for users upon signing up. Use BetMGM to ace your betting game in all sports!)
(Image Credits: Susan Mullane, Imagn Images)
