Indian Wells 2024: Holger Rune vs Lorenzo Musetti preview, head-to-head & prediction | BNP Paribas Open
Match Details
Fixture: (7) Holger Rune vs (26) Lorenzo Musetti
Date: March 11, 2024
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open
Round: Third Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, US
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize Money: $8,995,555
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel/TC Plus | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Holger Rune vs Lorenzo Musetti preview
Seventh seed Holger Rune will play against Lorenzo Musetti in the third round of the 2024 BNP Paribas Open on Monday.
As one of the seeded players, Rune received a bye into the second round, where he was due to face former top 10 player Milos Raonic. However, the Canadian withdrew from the tournament due to yet another injury and the Dane received a walkover, thus sending him into the third round.
Musetti received a first-round bye as well, after which he was up against Denis Shapovalov in the second round. The two traded service breaks to start the match but remained steady on serve over the next few games.
Musetti secured the decisive break in the seventh game to go 4-3 up and held on to the advantage to take the opener. The duo were on even terms until 2-2 in the second set. Shapovalov then gained the upper hand as he bagged the next four games to clinch the set and level the proceedings.
Shapovalov struck first in the decider to go 4-2 up but Musetti broke back to keep up with him. The Italian eventually gained the edge as he swept the last three games of the match to win 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.
Holger Rune vs Lorenzo Musetti head-to-head
Rune leads Musetti 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2023 Queen's Club Championships in straight sets.
Holger Rune vs Lorenzo Musetti odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Holger Rune vs Lorenzo Musetti prediction
Rune has been quite lucky to reach this stage without hitting a single shot. Musetti was made to work by Shapovalov in the previous round but managed to prevail in the end. The win also snapped his four-match losing streak which commenced with a second-round exit from the Open 13 Provence.
Musetti is going to have a slight advantage having already played a match here. He's familiar with the conditions and knows how to tweak his game accordingly.
Many players have found it tough to get a handle on the court conditions here. Since it'll be Rune's first match, he'll need some time to get used to them. This could give Musetti the opening he needs to gain the upper hand.
Rune won their previous encounter in straight sets but that might not be the case this time. Fortunately for him, Musetti is yet to string together two wins in a row this year. So even if the Dane's off to a slow start, he's going to have some time to turn things around given his opponent's poor form.
Pick: Holger Rune to win in three sets.