First-round action in Barcelona will wrap up on Tuesday, when an intriguing showdown pits Frances Tiafoe against Carlos Alcaraz. Feliciano Lopez just faced Alcaraz in Marbella and now runs into another rising start in Lorenzo Musetti.
(WC) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe and Alcaraz will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Tuesday. Both players have been extremely active on clay this season and are solid on the surface, so this should be a good one. Only 17 years old, Alcaraz started to make a name for himself on the main tour in 2020 and he has earned six of seven career ATP-level match victories this season. The Spaniard is coming off a semifinal showing in Marbella, where his run was highlighted by a straight-set upset of Casper Ruud.
Tiafoe made a rare appearance on the Golden Swing in March, with limited success. The 65th-ranked American advanced one round in both Buenos Aires and Santiago before returning to clay and reaching the second round in Acapulco (lost to Lorenzo Musetti) and the fourth round of the Miami Open (lost to Daniil Medvedev). This is Tiafoe’s first appearance since Miami, so a slight edge may go to Alcaraz given the teenager’s current form and his recent clay-court performances.
Pick: Alcaraz in 3
Feliciano Lopez vs. (WC) Lorenzo Musetti
Lopez is going from one teenager to another in consecutive matches. The 39-year-old Spaniard, who did not play last week in Monte-Carlo, is coming off a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 setback against Alcaraz in the Marbella second round. Now he faces Musetti, who is only 19 years old. Needless to say, this is going to be a tough test for a veteran whose duties at this point in his career now include being the Madrid tournament director. As for his on-court exploits, Lopez is just 3-6 in 2021 and he has never been at his best on clay.
Musetti has been outstanding on the slow stuff in the early stages of his career. Last year the 87th-ranked Italian made a run to the Rome third round as a qualifier and to the Sardinia semifinals. More recently Musetti advanced to the quarters in Cagliari, and although he lost right away in Monte-Carlo to Aslan Karatsev that will leave him well-rested for this week. On this surface, Musetti should have little trouble breaking down Lopez from the back of the court.
Pick: Musetti in 2
I have no idea who to pick. 😕 I have yet to see Musetti or Alcarez play. So I picked Tiafoe. And I picked Lopez. Hope I can watch the matches.
I haven’t yet seen Alcaraz play but he’s supposed to be really good on clay so I picked him. Musetti, too since as noted above, clay is really not Feli’s best surface. Now if this was grass..
I hope we can both watch these matches!