With Roland Garros less than two weeks away, there should be no shortage of motivation amongst the field to turn in a performance at the ATP Lyon Open. Day three features five singles matches and, as ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including the rain-delayed clash between Jannik Sinner and Aslan Karatsev. But who will advance and who will fall to defeat?
ATP Lyon Open Day 3 Predictions
Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Korda
Head-to-head: first meeting
This may be the first meeting between Lorenzo Musetti and Sebastian Korda, but it seems fairly certain that it will not be their last. Korda may not be most at home on the clay, but he has claimed some fine wins on the surface over the course of his fledgling career and he turned in another solid performance in the first round at the ATP Lyon Open to get the better of the Frenchman and crowd favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert in straight sets.
Musetti, meanwhile, delivered one of the best performances of his career to edge out the seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-5 in the third. That avenged a three-set defeat the Italian suffered at the Canadian’s hands in Barcelona and he will surely be full of confidence as a result. But although Korda arrived in Lyon having lost his last four matches, the American should not be underestimated. He reached the fourth round at the French Open last season for a reason and should have enough to account for Musetti, who may have to contend with fatigue.
Prediction: Korda in 3
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Aljaz Bedene vs David Goffin
Head-to-head: Bedene 1-0 Goffin
David Goffin is one of several established names who is in need of some wins. It has not been a disastrous season for the world #13, who has posted a 13-10 record so far in 2021, but there is certainly room for improvement for the Belgian. But after a first-round bye, this looks like being a tough opening assignment for Goffin with Aljaz Bedene impressing in his 6-2 6-3 first-round win over former-world #6 Gilles Simon.
Bedene also won their only previous match, although it was contested ten years ago when Goffin was still ten months away from celebrating his 20th birthday. It seems safe to assume that that result will not have too great a bearing on this contest as a result. But this should still be a competitive encounter with Bedene’s solid groundstrokes and good court-coverage making him a dangerous opponent on the clay. Still, it is hard to see him winning enough points from the baseline against Goffin to reach the last eight.
Prediction: Goffin in 3
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Kamil Majchrzak vs Karen Khachanov
Head-to-head: Khachanov 1-0 Majchrzak
This will be an interesting test for Karen Khachanov. The Russian claimed a much-needed win in the first round by getting the better of Benjamin Bonzi in a third-set tiebreak. However, it was not the most convincing performance from Khachanov, who still appears to be some way short of his best. Kamil Majchrzak has looked rather more impressive so far at the ATP Lyon Open. The Pole battled through the qualifying with wins over Liam Broady and Alessandro Giannessi and he backed that up by beating Joao Sousa 6-3 7-6. If he can maintain that level against Khachanov, expect him to pull off the upset.
Prediction: Majchrzak in 3
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Diego Schwartzman vs Richard Gasquet
Head-to-head: Gasquet 3-1 Schwartzman
Diego Schwartzman put together one of the best fortnights of his career last year at the French Open, reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal in the French capital and claiming the scalp of Dominic Thiem in the last eight. However, it is hard to see him repeating the feat this year, with the Argentine in the midst of a prolonged slump that has seen him lose his openers in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, managing just one set in the process.
Fortunately for Schwartzman, he has been handed what looks like a winnable first-round match. Richard Gasquet does lead their head-to-head 3-1, but the Frenchman is not the force he once was. He deserves credit for the fighting spirit he displayed in battling past his countryman Gregoire Barrere in the first round from a set down, but there was little in that performance that suggested he would have the beating of Schwartzman, even if the top seed is low on confidence.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 3
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