I don’t know about you, but I’m very excited for the future of men’s tennis. This week has seen some of the rising stars in the men’s game play some truly brilliant tennis over the first two days of the tournament. If their standard so far is anything to go by, we really are in for a treat the rest of this week as far as must-see tennis is concerned. However, as good as all eight of the young guns have been, only four can emerge victorious at the end of Thursday’s action. As ever, we try and predict who those four will be in our ATP Next Gen Finals session 6 predictions.
ATP Next Gen Finals Session 6 Predictions
Sebastian Baez vs Hugo Gaston
Head-to-head: First meeting
Two of the lesser known names at this version of the ATP Next Gen Finals meet for the first time here in Milan. Hugo Gaston comes to Italy on the back of a brilliant performance at the Paris Masters 1000 tournament. However, he has struggled here and appears to lack the power necessary to perform well on fast indoor courts. His serve is particularly week and will likely come under pressure from Sebastian Baez who has returned well all week. Similarities have been drawn between Baez and Diego Schwartzman and justifiably so. The diminutive Argentinian has great power off both wings and moves incredibly well. In a battle that will likely be decided by who can break most often, I think Baez has the edge given his greater power off both wings.
Predictions: Baez in 4
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Sebastian Korda vs Lorenzo Musetti
Head-to-head: 1-0
Lorenzo Musetti leads this match up, having bested Sebastian Korda earlier this year on clay. However, the young Italian’s game is still very clay-centric. He can keep up on slower hard courts but otherwise struggles to assert himself in matches. The same can not be said of Korda who has put together some great performances on hard courts this year. The young American has a bigger and better serve than Musetti as well as more power from the baseline. A big and dependable serve makes a huge difference on courts like these and it is hard to see the young Italian getting a look in on the Korda serve. However, Musetti is in with a chance if he can mix things up and throw Korda off his rhythm but on the whole this looks to be Korda’s match to lose.
Prediction: Korda in 3
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
