The entire third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters is being played on Thursday, when the eight quarterfinal places will be determined. Among the matchups are Holger Rune vs. Matteo Berrettini and Taylor Fritz vs. Jiri Lehecka.
Matteo Berrettini vs. (6) Holger Rune
Berrettini endured quite the roller-coaster ride in his second-round match at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Wednesday. The 22nd-ranked Italian led Francisco Cerundolo 5-0 in the first set, squandered the entire advantage and lost it 7-5, but then recovered to win the match 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-4 in two hours and 43 minutes.
Up next for Berrettini on Thursday is a third career contest against Rune, with the head-to-head series tied up at one win apiece. They just faced each other in Acapulco, where Rune was capitalizing on a hobbled opponent until Berrettini retired while trailing 6-0, 1-0. The 26-year-old could be in trouble physically once again, as he took a medical timeout following the second set against Cerundolo for an apparent issue with his side. Meanwhile, Rune was impressive during a 6-2, 6-4 rout of Dominic Thiem in the Monte-Carlo second round. A French Open quarterfinalist last spring, the 19-year-old Dane is likely on course for another quarterfinal appearance on clay.
Pick: Rune in 2
(8) Taylor Fritz vs. Jiri Lehecka
Fritz and Lehecka will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they battle for a quarterfinal spot at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Thursday. Their only previous meeting came at the United Cup, where Fritz prevailed 6-3, 6-4.
Both players have been outstanding in 2023. Fritz improved to 21-6 overall and an amazing 13-2 in tiebreakers when he kicked off his clay-court swing with a 7-6(10), 6-2 victory over Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday. Lehecka has advanced with straight-set defeats of Emil Ruusuvuori and Grigor Dimitrov, boosting his record this year to 16-7 at the ATP level. However, the 21-year-old Czech has cooled off just a bit with a 5-5 mark in his last 10 matches–including a first-round loss to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Phoenix Challenger. Fritz is on an absolute roll and getting past Wawrinka was a stellar clay-court result, so the 10th-ranked American should advance.
Pick: Fritz in 2
WWW?
Hopefully Lehecka over Fritz. Maybe in 3
Lehecka in 3. Wawrinka likely faded after a closely contested first set making it questionable form line.
Fritz in 2 is ambitious to say the least.
Rune in 3; Fritz in 2.
Stan had 5 set points in the first set and ought to have won it. That doesn’t mean he goes on to win the match. ( I stopped watching after the first set). But Fritz wasn’t great really. Missed loads of fhs. If his fh carries on misfiring then he will get caught by someone.
Anyway, I will be rooting for Lehecka because Fritz is by far the player I like least in the top 10.
Me too, about Fritz.
I find it hard to watch him play because I don’t like him.
The fifth set tb at wimby against Rafa is great to watch to see him writhing around in frustration..a laugh a minute..😀