The clay court season is proving to be an exciting one, with many twists and turns, upsets and dominant victories. We take a look at the exciting upcoming match between Careron Norrie and Lorenzo Musetti at ATP Barcelona.
Cameron Norrie vs Lorenzo Musetti
Time: 5:30 PM IST
Head-to-head: 0-0
Cameron Norrie’s recent performances have been uncharacteristically lackluster, with losses to Frances Tiafoe in Indian Wells, Gregoire Barrere in Miami, and Francisco Cerundolo in Monte Carlo. However, he was able to put an end to his three-match losing streak with a dominant victory over Pavel Kotov in his opening match at Barcelona, which came as a relief to him.
One of the hallmark traits of top players is their ability to win matches even when they are going through a rough patch, and this is precisely what the former world #8 has demonstrated this year. Despite not performing at his best since the start of the season, he has achieved remarkable results and even made it to three successive finals in ATP events – Auckland (lost), Buenos Aires (lost), and Rio de Janeiro (won).
Norrie, who is 27 years old, has reached the quarterfinals of ATP Barcelona in the last two editions (2021 and 2022), underscoring the tournament’s significance for him as one of his most successful clay-court events.
Lorenzo Musetti’s season received a much-needed boost with his impressive showing at the Monte Carlo Masters last week. He demonstrated his prowess by bageled both Miomir Kecmanovic and Luca Nardi, followed by causing a major upset in the round of 16 by defeating Novak Djokovic. The confidence he gained from this victory was evident in his ATP Barcelona opener against Jason Kubler, which he won 6-3, 6-1.
Musetti, who is the current ATP Hamburg (500) champion, has been consistently improving his performances at Barcelona. In his debut campaign last year, he was unable to progress beyond the second round, but in 2022, he managed to reach the round of 16.
If Musetti can match his performance levels from Monte Carlo last week, he is sure to get past Norrie.
Prediction: Back Lorenzo Musetti to win @ 2.00