Second-round action at the ATP Madrid Open continues on Friday. A plethora of intriguing matches are on schedule. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every single one of them, with four of those matches featured in this article. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate for Day 3. We split them between this and three other articles–featuring Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Shevchenko, Holger Rune vs Mariano Navone, and Alexander Zverev vs Borna Coric. So, who will advance?
ATP Madrid Day 3 Predictions
Lorenzo Musetti vs Thiago Seyboth Wild
Head-to-head: first meeting
Seyboth Wild got a solid win over Roman Safiullin to kick off his Madrid campaign in style. It’s the first time he’s playing in this tournament. Musetti, by contrast, is making his fourth trip to the Spanish capital. But he has not advanced beyond the second-round stage in his previous three visits. The Italian is at risk of being caught cold, having lost his last two matches and arriving in Madrid without any on-court mileage for the past seven days.
Prediction: Seyboth Wild in 3
Francisco Cerundolo vs Fabian Marozsan
Head-to-head: Marozsan 1-0 Cerundolo
Marozsan has a great track record of upsetting the odds at Masters tournaments. In fact, his rise into the Top 50 can be solely attributable to his success in tournaments at this level. He secured a tight, straight-set win over Aslan Karastsev in his opener. Francisco Cerundolo has had an inconsistent year, and he’s been surprisingly erratic on clay. By dint of his record at the Masters level, the Hungarian is poised to keep his undefeated streak before the round of 16 at this level.
Prediction: Marozsan in 3
Andrey Rublev vs Facundo Bagnis
Head-to-head: Rublev 1-0 Bagnis
There is a hint of vulnerability in Andrey Rublev’s game right now. He arrives in Madrid on the back of his worst losing run for quite some time (he lost his last four). Losing matches has only increased his stress levels. The Russian has made headlines with a series of on-court outbursts, one of which cost him a match in Dubai. Facundo Bagnis has been winning a lot of matches on clay and tallied two wins from qualifying. He upset Brandon Nakashima in the main draw to get here. Maybe desperation is Rublev’s calling card, and he might eventually get that much-needed win to get his season back on track.
Prediction: Rublev in 2
Taylor Fritz vs Luciano Darderi
Head-to-head: first meeting
This should be an entertaining watch. Fritz enters this year’s Madrid Open feeling slightly disappointed. But he should not be downbeat after losing the Munich final to a red-hot Jan-Lennard Struff, who was simply unplayable during the week. The change in playing conditions will suit Fritz rather than Darderi, who prefers a much slower clay court. The Italian has enjoyed an excellent season. He won his first ATP title in Cordoba in February. He’s got nothing to lose, but whether he has the ability to resist Fritz’s power is doubtful. The 12th seed has the edge here.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
