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Fixture: (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs (18) Lorenzo Musetti.
Date: May 16, 2023.
Tournament: Italian Open 2023.
Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16).
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.
Category: Masters 1000.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €7,705,780.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti preview
World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas will square off against home favorite Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round of the 2023 Italian Open on Tuesday.
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Tsitsipas defeated Nuno Borges in straight sets to reach the third round, where Lorenzo Sonego awaited him. The Greek managed to gain the upper hand in the first set by breaking his opponent's serve in the sixth game to go 4-2 up.
Tsitsipas then held three set points on Sonego's serve at 5-2, but the latter managed to get himself out of trouble. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old captured the set in the next game by serving it out himself.
The second set was interrupted by heavy rains, and the match was postponed until the next day because of it. When the play resumed the following day, Sonego held a set point each across two of Tsitsipas' service games but was unable to close it out. It proved to be too costly for the Italian as Tsitsipas managed to come out on top in the tie-break to win the match 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Musetti ousted compatriot Matteo Arnaldi to make it to the third round, where he was up against Frances Tiafoe. The Italian led 3-1 in the first set but squandered his lead down the line as his opponent turned the tables on him to claim the set.
Musetti broke the American's serve twice in the second set to go 5-2 up. He stumbled while trying to serve out the set on his first try as Tiafoe broke his serve, but the Italian regrouped quickly to close out the set on his second attempt.
Musetti broke Tiafoe's serve in the very first game of the third set and then led 2-1 when the play was suspended due to the rain. The 21-year-old picked up from where he left off the other day. He held on to the lead and broke his opponent's serve one last time to wrap up a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti head-to-head
Tsitsipas leads Musetti 4-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2023 Barcelona Open in three sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti prediction
Musetti staged a fantastic comeback to overcome Tiafoe in the previous round. He struck 46 winners in a stellar display of ballstriking. His unforced error count stood at 11, which makes his performance stand out even more.
Tsitsipas was also tested a fair bit by Sonego, but managed to get past him with relative ease. His serve helped him out immensely as he won a whopping 93% of his first serve points.
Tsitsipas and Musetti have a budding rivalry, though the former has won all of their encounters so far. Three of their four meetings have taken place on clay. Their last two matches went to a deciding set as well.
When Musetti is in the zone, his shotmaking is a joy to witness for fans, but not so much for his opponents. Tsitsipas is equally good but slightly more consistent than his younger foe. The Italian is a tough competitor, but expect the Greek to outlast him yet again in the end.
Pick: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in three sets.
