2021 Next Gen ATP Finals Group Stage – Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez on and what time does it start? Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez will take place on Tuesday 9th November, 2021 – not before 20:00 (UK)
Where is Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez taking place? Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez will take place at the Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy
What surface is Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez being played on? Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez will take place on an indoor hard court
Where can I get tickets for Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez? Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez
What channel is Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez on? Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez will be televised on the Amazon Prime Video app on smart TVs
Where can I stream Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez? Amazon Prime subscribers can stream Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez live via their platform. Subscribers of Tennis TV can also stream the match live
THE PREDICTION
World number 58 Lorenzo Musetti is one away from his career high of 57th achieved earlier this year after a superb run to the round of 16 at Roland-Garros. The 19-year-old took two tiebreaks off of eventual champion Novak Djokovic in his best solo performance of the season but spent all his energy before retiring in the fifth set 0-4 down and he has struggled on tour ever since. A resurgent mood last week in Paris did not last long with a defeat by James Duckworth in the second round but Musetti is the only player who was set to play last season’s cancelled Next Gen Finals and a second chance might be all the motivation he needs. Musetti made the semi-finals of the ATP 500 Mexican Open back in March with two of his five top 20 wins this season over Grigor Dimitrov and Diego Schwartzman.
20-year-old Sebastian Baez just makes the Next Gen Finals cut after Jenson Brooksby pulled out of the running. The Argentine is up to a career-high 111th in the ATP world rankings after reaching four-straight Challenger finals and winning the most recent two, all on his favoured clay. Baez has won five Challenger events in total this season and he will likely use this opportunity at the Next Gen Finals to step-up to tour-level competition from next season.
This is no gimme for Lorenzo Musetti as he finally makes his Next Gen Finals debut one year on from qualifying the first time around. The Italian will enjoy playing in front of a home crowd who have come to expect more from him than he has been able to provide this season, with last year’s run to the Italian Open round of 16, via defeating Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori, proof of what he can do. Off the clay Sebastian Baez is a relative unknown and unlikely to cause too significant a scare in this ‘away match’ in Milan, with the crowd likely to bolster Musetti’s improving resolve after a torrid second-half of the season. Take the Italian to win outright here as he looks set to battle Hugo Gaston behind Sebastian Korda for a place in the last four.
