ATP 250 Chengdu final
Musetti – Shang: 24.09.2024 13:00 CEST
H2H: first meeting
Lorenzo Musetti has won four of his last five matches. Here in Chengdu, Lorenzo defeated O’Connell in three tight sets as we predicted in his opening match. Lorenzo was a better player under pressure, and won deservingly. Musetti was 3-5 down in the deciding set, but stayed calm, and turned the match around. In the quarterfinals, Lorenzo defeated Mannarino in three sets as well. Lorenzo was a better player in the first and deciding set. However, he lost all the important points of the second set, which is the main reason why Mannarino pushed this to the decider. Today, in the semifinals, Lorenzo defeated Kachmazov in straight sets. This was the best performance from the Italians this week. Lorenzo offered, and saved three breakpoints. Overall, it was a low-quality match, with both players missing easy shots. Musetti ended this match with 15 winners and 20 unforced errors. Musetti is still a top 20 player, and he is looking for some decent results in the next couple of weeks to cement his top 20 status. So far this season, Musetti has not had any remarkable results on the hard courts. Last year in Chengdu, Lorenzo reached the semifinals, where he lost against Safiullin in straight sets.
Juncheng Shang has won four of his last five matches. Here in Chengdu, Shang defeated Nishikori in the first round as we predicted. Juncheng offered 9 break points, and saved 8 of them. The second set was a roller coaster, but Shang played his best tennis under pressure. After that, Juncheng defeated Safiullin in three tight sets as we predicted. Shang lost the first set against Roman, but stepped up his level later in the match and turned the match around. In the quarterfinals, Shang defeated Bublik in straight sets as we predicted. He was great under pressure, saving all five breakpoints. Shang played aggressively well from the very start, hitting 26 winners with only 11 unforced errors. Today, in the semifinals, Juncheng won against Hanfmann in straight sets as we predicted. Once again, Shang served exceptionally well, not offering any breakpoints. He broke Hanfmann´s serve once in each set, which was enough for a comfortable win. Juncheng is looking to get into the top 50 in the rankings, so he is hoping for a solid result in front of his own crowd. Shang has been consistent throughout the whole season. He is still only 19 years old, and with such talent, we believe that he will eventually become a top 10 player.
Best Bet to Make
According to the bookies, Musetti is the slight favorite in this match. This will be their first head-to-head meeting. Shang would have the crowd on his side, which was important for him throughout the whole week. He loves to play on the fast courts such as this one, so we believe that he should have been a favorite in this matchup. Musetti struggled in almost every single match this week. On the other hand, Shang performed better than Lorenzo this week. We believe that with the help of the crowd, Shang will win the title.
That being said, Shang winning is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Juncheng Shang winning @2.20 @bet365
Main Photo Credit: Taya Gray/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK
