The fourth edition of the NextGen ATP Finals kicks off with Day 1 on Tuesday in Milan, as a fresh crop of under-21 talent vies for the title. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match from the NextGen Finals. The event has a bit of a unique format, which we give a brief overview for.
ATP NextGen Finals Day 1 Predictions
Lorenzo Musetti vs Sebastian Baez
Head-to-head: first meeting
In the absence of Sinner, Musetti is the only Italian in the draw. He’s really struggled since the French Open, though his form on indoor hard has been middling as opposed to just flat out bad like in the summer.
Baez is coming in in way better form, reaching the final in four of the last five events he’s entered. The Argentine reached finals in Kiev and Santiago before winning the next two events in Santiago.
What Musetti holds over his opponent though is experience on the surface, as Baez has only played one indoor hard match in his career.
Though Musetti is a big favorite for the win here, I think Baez will give him a run for his money here.
Prediction: Musetti in 5
Sebastian Korda vs Hugo Gaston
Head-to-head: first meeting
Korda comes into this tournament as one of the favorites, not only stepping into Top 100 this year but becoming a solid Top 50 player. The 21-year-old has had indoor success on the Challenger circuit, winning Quimper in February and also a strong showing last week at Paris-Bercy. Korda defeated Asian Karatsev and Marin Cilic before falling to the World No. 2, Daniil Medvedev.
Gaston was a frequent finalist this season, not only reaching four finals on the Challenger Tour but also at a 250 in Gstaad. The Frenchmen has been impressing mostly on clay this year but had a real breakthrough last week in Paris-Bercy, reaching the quarterfinals as a qualifier. Gaston beat two of his NextGen rivals there, Alcaraz and Musetti, as well as Anderson, Rinderknech and Carreno Busta. He moved up almost 40 spots as a result and is now in the Top 70.
The match-up is certainly an intriguing one, Gaston’s variety looking to overcome Korda’s hard-hitting strokes. I do expect the American to come out on top though.
Prediction: Korda in 4
Main Photo from Getty.
