French Open 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Roland Garros
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti.
Tournament: French Open 2022.
Date: 24 May 2022
Round: First round (Round of 128).
Venue: Paris, France.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €21,256,800.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti preview
World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas will commence his 2022 French Open campaign against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas has been in fine form in the lead-up to Roland Garros. He successfully defended his title at the Monte-Carlo Masters before reaching the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. The Greek lost to Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the Madrid Open, but went one step further in Rome.
Tsitsipas avenged his loss to Zverev by defeating the German in the semifinals of the Italian Open, but fell short of winning the title. He lost to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the final.
Last year, he came agonizingly close to winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open. Tsitsipas led Djokovic by two sets in the final, but the Serb staged a fantastic turnaround to win the title. The Greek will be aiming to go all the way this time around.
Congratulations @steftsitsipas on a great tournament - you are a fantastic leader of this sport with a big future ahead. I’m honored to be a colleague. https://t.co/mjYhWnqdKX
Lorenzo Musetti, meanwhile, started his clay season at the ATP 250 event in Marrakech, where he reached the quarterfinals. At the Monte-Carlo Masters, he made it to the third round, scoring a top 10 win by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime before losing to Diego Schwartzman.
Musetti then competed at the Barcelona Open, but was defeated by Schwartzman in the third round yet again. At the Madrid Open, he booked his place in the main draw after coming through the qualifying rounds. After defeating Ilya Ivashka and Sebastian Korda, he retired halfway through his third-round contest against Alexander Zverev due to a leg injury.
Last year’s finalist @steftsitsipas will start his quest to go one step further in an opening meeting with Lorenzo Musetti
#RolandGarros https://t.co/sOb6jdib0L
Musetti was then unable to compete at the Italian Open due to the same injury.
The Italian made it to the fourth round of the French Open last year. He led Djokovic by two sets to love, but retired in the fifth set due to injury. It remains his best result at a Grand Slam so far.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti head-to-head
Tsitsipas leads Musetti 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter in the semifinals of the 2021 Lyon Open in three sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Lorenzo Musetti prediction
Both recorded their best results at a Grand Slam at last year's French Open, but one of them won't be able to do the same this time around.
Tsitsipas has recorded some stellar results on the red dirt so far and Musetti has been quite consistent as well, even if he hasn't matched the Greek.
The World No. 4 has a better serve, which will certainly help him in crucial moments against Musetti. Musetti's forehand is weaker than Tsitsipas' and his more inconsistent wing, which the Greek will target to elicit errors.
Both players are quite comfortable on clay and as such, the surface won't offer an advantage to either. Tsitsipas incorporates more variety in his game compared to the Italian. He isn't afraid to approach the net frequently or mix it up with a well-timed drop shot.
Tsitsipas' recent results have made him a title contender in Paris and despite facing a quality opponent early on, he's likely to start his campaign with a win.
Pick: Tsitsipas to win in four sets.