Am I alone in liking Marco Cecchinato today? Hopefully not.
Whilst the wins from Lorenzo Musetti over Goffin and Nishioka have been impressive, he is still yet to be truly tested in the best of 5 cauldron that is grand slam tennis. Against a capable opponent in Cecchinato today, we may see that occur for the first time.
Given the previous experience at the level, as well as the top level shown by Cecchinato at this tournament in a previous year, and the lead in form, I have Marco slated as a favourite in this match over best of 5. You look at his overall body of work on the clay and his losses have come to players in great form, and I am happy to forgive his loss to Korda in the final the other day. Korda couldn’t back up physcially here in round 1, whilst Cecchinato took a set to get going against Uchiyama, but has looked incredibly solid since. Winning two sets against Alex De Minaur 6-1 is good form on any surface, and Cecchinato looks to be playing with a whole lot of confidence.
The bulk of the wins from Musetti on clay this season have come against players either out of form or not overly proficient on clay, outside of perhaps Seb Korda in Lyon, and that match went down to the wire. He is clearly an exceptionally talented player, and is one of the bigger talents in the game, I do feel a capable claycourter able to place pressure on Musetti across the course of 5 sets is a player worthy of being a favourite in this match-up at this stage of Lorenzo’s career.
With Novak Djokovic the likely fourth round opponent, I am liking Cecchinato to set up a fascinating Roland Garros re-match.
Suggested Bet
2.5 units Cecchinato to defeat Musetti at $2.35 at Topsport
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