The first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament of 2022 started in Monte Carlo on Thursday with Round of 16 action. In the Round of 32, the top eight seeds finally got their feet wet, but only four advanced. To reach to this point, all of the other players in the competition had to win two main-draw matches. So far, there have been a lot of upsets, but the top few remaining seeds have very obvious pathways to the quarterfinals, while a couple of young talents have a chance to make their presence felt on the big stage.
Lorenzo Musetti vs Diego Schwartzman
Diego Sebastian Schwartzman and Lorenzo Musetti will fight against each other in the 3rd round of the ATP1000 Master in Monte-Carlo for the 2nd time in their career.
As per the initial odds, Diego Sebastian Schwartzman is the pick to win this match.
Diego Sebastian Schwartzman – 1.61
Lorenzo Musetti – 2.44
On Wednesday, Musetti defeated Auger-Aliassime for the second time, and his shotmaking prowess should be on display against Schwartzman. While the diminutive Argentine is a fighter, he cannot steamroll opponents like most top-20 players. Thus allowing Musetti to linger around is a recipe for an upset.
This will be the 2nd time that Diego Sebastian Schwartzman and Lorenzo Musetti square off. The head to head is 1-0 for Musetti, but they have never competed against each other on clay.
The last time they competed against each other, Musetti won 6-3 2-6 6-4 in the 1st round in Acapulco in 2021.
Casper Ruud vs Grigor Dimitrov
Dimitrov can be a tricky opponent, but Ruud’s accurately pegged as a comfortable favourite on the fourth-seeded Norwegian’s favourite surface and Dimitrov’s least favourite. Ruud’s run to the final in Miami shows he has been in excellent form heading into the clay-court season, and he’s 5-0 on the slow stuff in 2022. Meanwhile, it’s no secret that Dimitrov prefers faster surfaces, as he’s reached the semifinals at three of the four slams but has never even made the quarters at the French Open, with a career record of just 12-11 at Roland Garros.
Alexander Zverev vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Alexander Zverev and Pablo Carreno-Busta will square off in the 3rd round of the ATP1000 Master in Monte-Carlo for the 3rd time in their career.
Alexander Zverev is the pick to win this match as per the initial odds.
Alexander Zverev – 1.31
Pablo Carreno-Busta – 3.74
This will be the 3rd time Alexander Zverev and Pablo Carreno-Busta have fought against each other. The head to head is 2-0 for Zverev, but they have never competed against each other on clay.
The last time they played, Zverev won 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal at the U.S. Open back in 2020.
