Marin Cilic (Tennis World Usa)
The Croatian veteran Marin Cilic meets the world No. 23 Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 64 of the Paris Masters in a potential humdinger.
The 2014 US Open champion made it to the Tel Aviv Open final but things haven’t gone according to plan in the following two tournaments. In Astana, the 34-year-old lost in the round of 16 against Karen Khachanov. He entered the Basel Open as the fourth seed but his run ended abruptly in the first round following a defeat to Arthur Rinderknech.
Last year at the Paris Masters, Cilic won his first-round encounter against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina before losing to Sebastian Korda in a one-sided contest in the second round. The experienced campaigner has not been having a great second half of the season but a deep run in the Paris Masters could change that.
The talented youngster has been in much better form as of late compared to his upcoming opponent. Musetti might have been ousted in the first round at the Basel Open but prior to that, he reached back-to-back semis in the Sofia Open and the Firenze Open. In fact, just prior to the Basel Open, Musetti won the Tennis Napoli Cup by defeating fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini in the finals.
Last year at the Paris Masters, Musetti managed to make it to the main draw after getting past Lucas Pouille and Hugo Gaston in the qualifiers. Musetti defeated Laslo Djere in the first round before losing to James Duckworth in the round of 32.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-0 in favor of Marin Cilic. He defeated Musetti in the round of 32 of the 2021 Miami Open in straight sets.
Prediction: Marin Cilic to win in three sets.
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