Day two at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan offers a lot of intrigue as players look to position themselves to advance to the semifinals in the latter part of the week. Day two group-stage action features some must-watch matchups, and as always, we at LWOT have the prediction for every match on the slate.
Next Gen ATP Finals Day 2 Predictions
Brandon Nakashima vs Jiri Lehecka
Head-to-head: first meeting
After both players won their first match in Milan, Brandon Nakashima and Jiri Lehecka are set to square off for supremacy atop the ‘Green Group.’ The winner of this match will all but likely find themselves in the semifinals of the Next Gen ATP Finals. Separated in age by just three months, the American has found himself making the earlier imprint on tour. Nakashima posted a 30-23 tour-level record this season while capturing his maiden title in San Diego.
Lehecka, on the other hand, was just 10-17 in tour-level matches. He did, however, reach two Challenger finals, winning in Liberec back in August. Although Lehecka won his first match much more comfortably than Nakashima, I favor the American to take care of business in this one. He has experience both at this event and in high-leverage situations, proving that by winning two tiebreaks against Arnaldi.
Prediction: Nakashima in 4
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Matteo Arnaldi vs Francesco Passaro
Head-to-head: Arnaldi 1-0 Passaro
Italians Matteo Arnaldi and Francesco Passaro will square off for the second time in their young careers, though this match has a lot more on the line than their first meeting. Arnaldi won that matchup 6-3 6-4 in a clay-court Challenger event earlier this year.
Passaro is 46 days older than Arnaldi and is also currently ranked 15 spots higher than his compatriot. With that said, Passaro has played a majority of his professional matches on the clay. With saw him struggle with the indoor hard courts of Milan as he lost to Jiri Lehecka in straight sets on day one. For this reason, I expect Arnaldi to control the match in front of what should be a spirited Italian crowd.
Prediction: Arnaldi in 3
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Jack Draper vs Chun-Hsin Tseng
Head-to-head: first meeting
Many favoured Jack Draper to win this event, though the Brit now founds himself in a precarious spot after losing his day one match in straight sets to Dominic Stricker. Chun-Hsin Tseng also lost in his first match, setting up the loser of this battle to be eliminated from title contention. Expect Draper to come out with a fiery motivation to avenge his day one result. We have seen it at the tour level this season; Draper can play like one of the best in the world on a hard court. Tseng simply does not possess any weapons that will be able to break through Draper.
Prediction: Draper in 4
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Lorenzo Musetti vs Dominic Stricker
Head-to-Head: first meeting
The matchup of the day takes place between Lorenzo Musetti and Stricker. Both players won their day one matches in straight sets and will all but likely book a spot into the semifinals with a win here. Musetti has shown more early success at the tour level. He is currently ranked #23 in the world and has won eight of his last ten matches.
Stricker, on the other hand, spent most of his 2022 season playing in Challenger events. These two both strike the ball as cleanly as anyone in this event. Musetti and Stricker will put on a clinic from the baseline and should produce many magical points. With that said, expect Musetti’s previous experience playing at this event as well as playing in front of a home crowd to help lead him to the finish line.
Prediction: Musetti in 4
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