Earlier this year, the world number one and two contested one of the greatest Grand Slam finals of all time, as Alcaraz saved championship points to beat Sinner, defending his Roland Garros title in the process.

Alcaraz and Sinner seem to produce magic whenever they set foot on court against each other, but that’s not to say they are the only players worth watching on the ATP Tour.

Former American star John Isner has now named the player he believes is the third-best watch in tennis.

John Isner says Lorenzo Musetti is the ‘best watch’ in tennis behind Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

During the latest episode of ‘Nothing Major’, Isner gave his verdict on Lorenzo Musetti, following his first-round win at the US Open.

“[Lorenzo] Musetti, take out [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz, I think he’s the best watch in tennis,” said Isner.

“Just his game style. The slice, so good.”

Isner’s co-host Steve Johnson agreed, as he shared what he noticed about Musetti’s game when calling his first-round match.

“We were calling some of his match today, he hit a couple of one-handed passes in like, slow motion,” he said.

“It was so beautiful, he gets low and just smacks the c— out of it.”

Musetti beat the big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in round one, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

The 23-year-old has been a revelation on the ATP Tour in 2025, taking his game to another level, especially on his favored clay courts.

Musetti remarkably reached the semifinals of all four European clay-court events he played this year, helping him shoot up the rankings.

• 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters – Lorenzo Musetti lost in F to Carlos Alcaraz
• 2025 Madrid Open – Lorenzo Musetti lost in SF to Jack Draper
• 2025 Italian Open – Lorenzo Musetti lost in SF to Carlos Alcaraz
• 2025 French Open – Lorenzo Musetti lost in SF to Carlos Alcaraz

The Italian reached a career-high ranking of 6th in the world as a result, having begun the year well outside the top ten.

Musetti looked set to qualify for the ATP Finals after his strong run on clay, although things haven’t quite gone to plan since.

Suffering an injury at Roland Garros, Musetti failed to find any consistent form over the next few months.

• 2025 Wimbledon – Lorenzo Musetti lost in 1R to Nikoloz Basilashvili
• 2025 Washington Open – Lorenzo Musetti lost in 2R to Cameron Norrie
• 2025 Canadian Open – Lorenzo Musetti lost in 3R to Alex Michelsen
• 2025 Cincinnati Open – Lorenzo Musetti lost in 2R to Benjamin Bonzi

Musetti has now fallen out of the qualification spots for the ATP Finals and will need to start picking up some big wins soon if he wants to join the field in Turin.

ATP Finals qualification race

Every year, the eight players who accumulate the most points on tour qualify for the year-end ATP Finals.

Unfortunately for Musetti, he currently sits in ninth and would miss out on qualification as things stand.

There is, of course, a long way to go, and a gap of 75 points can be closed down quickly.

He may take some comfort from the fact that the player who finished the race in ninth last year, Alex de Minaur, still qualified.

De Minaur made it in by the skin of his teeth, as Novak Djokovic (6th) withdrew from the ATP Finals, choosing to finish his season early.

As the Serb continues to play a reduced schedule, there is a good chance that we won’t see Djokovic participate this year either.

However, Musetti won’t want to rely on a Djokovic withdrawal and will work hard to qualify for the event on merit.

After the US Open, he will have a chance to pick up more points when he returns to action at the Chengdu Open ATP 250 event, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, September 15.