Sebastian Korda and Lorenzo Musetti will clash in a battle of NextGen stars in the Lyon second round on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner and Aslan Karatsev are wrapping up a rain-delayed first round.
Sebastian Korda vs. Lorenzo Musetti
This is a tantalizing preview of what the NextGen Finals could feature. Sebastian Korda broke through last fall. The American has had a couple of promising results already, with a final showing in Delray Beach and a quarterfinal result in Miami. He has limped through the European clay season so far, but he had a solid straight-set win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round this week.
Lorenzo Musetti seems to be on a similar trajectory as Korda. The 19-year old Italian made the semifinals in Acapulco in March, but his clay season results have been less than impressive. He defeated a struggling Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round.
Korda has a bigger upside on clay right now. Despite recent results, the American has already proven that he is capable of playing well on the dirt;he made the round of 16 at the French Open last fall after coming up through qualifying.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 2
Ricky pick: Korda in 3
(6) Jannik Sinner vs. Aslan Karatsev
Aslan Karatsev burst on the tennis scene out of nowhere at the beginning of the season. Prior to the Australian Open, the 27 year-old was ranked 114th in the world. A Grand Slam semifinal run and four months later the Russian is No. 25 in the world. First-round opponent Jannik Sinner has also had a meteoric rise in the rankings, despite being just 19 years old. He made the final in Miami earlier this spring and the semifinals in Barcelona a few weeks ago.
Sinner and Karatsev have already played once before. The two men met this year on the hard courts of Dubai, where Karatsev won in three sets. But since they’re on clay, Sinner should have plenty of time to track down balls. This one is about as good a first-round match as you’ll ever see at an ATP 250 event.
Cheryl pick: Sinner in 3
Ricky pick: Sinner in 2
WWW?
While Karatsev has won some good matches on clay, I get the feeling he’s not a genuine clay courter, and when up against one, will usually get found out. I regard Sinner as an authentic clay counter even though he hits the ball flatter than most.
Karatsev beat djokovic on clay buddy
Djokovic wasn’t on his best mode that day and Djoker and clay doesn’t really add up, never has and never will especially not in smaller tournaments even if it’s in Belgrade.
Read the statement again ‘carefully’.
Hate spreads like wildfire when people collude and talk.
Ksev vs Sinner….that could be a French Open quarterfinal….even this year!…Ksev in 3; Korda (I hope!) in 3.