The entire third-round schedule at the Toronto Masters will be played on Thursday, and it includes both Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev. They have tough matchups on their hands with Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti, respectively.
(8) Taylor Fritz vs. Alex de Minaur
Fritz and De Minaur will already be facing each other for the eighth time in their careers when they meet again in round three of the National Bank Open on Thursday. De Minaur won their first three encounters on the main tour before Fritz reeled off three victories of his own, most recently in three sets last summer on the grass courts of Eastbourne. De Minaur owns an overall 4-3 edge since he won a 2018 Challenger contest in Surbiton. It’s also worth noting that all four of the Aussie’s wins have come in straight sets, whereas Fritz needed a final set on two occasions and four sets at the 2021 U.S. Open.
It has been a stellar hard-court summer for both players so far. Fritz captured the Atlanta title (which De Minaur has done twice), reached the Washington, D.C. semifinals, and beat Ugo Humbert 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday in Toronto. De Minaur is coming off a runner-up performance in Los Cabos and opened this week with straight-set defeats of Cameron Norrie and Gabriel Diallo. Although the ninth-ranked American is the favorite on paper, an in-form De Minaur has enjoyed plenty of success in this matchup and should have a good shot at pulling off an upset.
Pick: De Minaur in 3
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(16) Lorenzo Musetti vs. (2) Daniil Medvedev
This is Medvedev’s favorite time of year. The third-ranked Russian famously declared earlier in 2023 at the Indian Wells Masters that he is a hard-court specialist, and–despite having achieved plenty of success on clay and grass–it’s hard to disagree with him. Medvedev has won the U.S. Open, both Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati, and also Washington, D.C. and Los Cabos. He has finished runner-up at the U.S. Open, Canada Masters, and D.C., as well.
The 27-year-old kicked off his hard-court swing with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Matteo Arnaldi on Wednesday in Toronto, improving to an amazing 47-9 overall for the season. Next up for him is a first-ever meeting with Musetti, who is 28-18 this year and up to 19th in the rankings. The Italian is quickly establishing himself as an all-court player as opposed to simply a force on clay, but on this surface you still have to give the edge to Medvedev.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
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