China Open 2024: Lorenzo Musetti vs Bu Yunchaokete preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (6) Lorenzo Musetti vs (WC) Bu Yunchaokete
Date: September 29, 2024
Tournament: China Open 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $3,720,165
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Lorenzo Musetti vs Bu Yunchaokete preview
Sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti will take on home favorite Bu Yunchaokete in the second round of the China Open 2024.
Musetti was up against Zizou Bergs in the first round. It looked like the first set would go to a tie-break as neither player came close to a break point. However, the Italian made his move in the closing stages of the set, and broke his opponent's serve in the 12th game to take the set.
Bergs saved three points at the start of the second set, which gave him enough confidence to break Musetti's serve later on. He held onto the advantage until the end of the set to claim it. The Italian surged ahead 3-0 in the decider, and kept his nose in front until he got over the finish line for a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win.
Bu faced Shang Juncheng, who claimed his maiden ATP title at the Chengdu Open a couple of days ago, in his opener here. The former rallied from a break down and even saved a set point to force a tie-break, though the latter eventually came out on top to clinch the set.
Bu was all over his opponent in the second set, and captured it to force a third set. He built a 3-0 lead for himself, only for Shang to claw his way back into the match to make it 4-4. He then broke the teenager's serve once again to go 5-4 up, and served out the match in the next game for a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Lorenzo Musetti vs Bu Yunchaokete head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Lorenzo Musetti vs Bu Yunchaokete odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Lorenzo Musetti vs Bu Yunchaokete prediction
Both players were pushed to three sets in their first-round contests, and continued their good run of form with another win. Musetti was the runner-up at the Chengdu Open, while Bu made the semifinals of the Hangzhou Open.
Musetti won 76 percent of his first serve points, and hit 17 winners in contrast to 31 unforced errors. Bu, meanwhile, had a 69 percent win rate on his first serve, and struck 23 winners compared to 37 unforced errors. Both players made quite a few errors in the previous round, and will aim to clean up their acts going forward.
Musetti has been in great form over the last few months, and has a 27-8 record since the start of June. Bu is a player on the rise, and is performing well in front of his home crowd. However, with only five main draw wins to his name this season, he'll be the underdog against the Italian.
Pick: Lorenzo Musetti to win in three sets.