Tabilo saves two championship points to upset Musetti and win Chengdu Open

At the ATP Chengdu Open, Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo saved two championship points to upset top seed Lorenzo Musetti in a thrilling third-set tie-break, capturing his third ATP 250 title.

Tabilo won the first set 6-3 with a strong serve.

Italy's Musetti, who lost in last year's final to China's Shang Juncheng, bounced back in the second set and the 23-year-old produced a beautiful backhand overhead while leading 3-1.

The world number nine, won the second set 6-2 after Tabilo committed a double fault.

Musetti led 6-5 in the third set and brought up a championship point with a sublime one-handed backhand winner. He failed to convert it, and despite a second opportunity, he again missed, hitting long amid obvious nerves.

The match progressed to a tiebreaker. Tabilo seized the moment, winning a decisive battle at the net to earn himself a championship point. Musetti served well but hit the net, allowing Tabilo to win the tiebreaker 7-5 and claim the title.

The 28-year-old Tabilo collapsed to the floor, seemingly amazed by his triumph. The clay-court specialist achieved victory on hard court, moving up 40 places to 72nd in the world rankings.