Monday marks the first day of main-draw action during the 2021 fall swing. It is getting started on the indoor hard courts of the Moselle Open, where Lorenzo Sonego and Marton Fucsovics are squaring off for the sixth time in their careers.
Fucsovics leads the head-to-head series 3-2, including 2-1 at the ATP level. The Hungarian won their only previous indoor encounter 6-4, 6-4 at the 2019 Vienna event, but Sonego prevailed in their lone meeting since 2019 (a 6-3, 6-4 decision earlier this season in Monte-Carlo).
It is Sonego who has remained in much better form since their most recent matchup. The Italian is up to No. 24 in the world thanks in part to a semifinal run in Rome, a runner-up finish in Eastbourne, and a fourth-round performance at Wimbledon.
Fucsovics made it all the way to the quarterfinals at the All-England Club, but things went downhill the rest of the summer–mainly due to injury. The world No. 41 has played only three tournaments in the last two-plus months and has nothing more to show for his efforts than a single win over world No. 255 Yosuke Watanuki in Winston-Salem.
Another reason why Sonego has to like his chances on Monday is that he generally excels on relatively fast surfaces like indoor hard courts (and also grass). The 26-year-old’s biggest win ever by ranking came last fall in Vienna over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic en route to a runner-up result.
All signs point to Sonego kicking off this year’s indoor swing in style.
Pick: Sonego in 2
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