Jannik Sinner kicks off his 2022 ATP Madrid Open campaign against Tommy Paul on Day 2 of main draw play. Meanwhile, the qualifiers have been placed into the main draw. Cameron Norrie will take on Soon-Woo Kwon, while Lorenzo Musetti faces Ilya Ivashka. As always, we here at LWOT predict every match for you. We split the 14 matches between four articles. In addition to this article, we have others featuring Andy Murray vs Dominic Thiem, Diego Schwartzman vs Benoit Paire, and Karen Khachanov vs Lucas Pouille. Who do you think will make it to the next round?
ATP Madrid Day 2 Predictions
Cameron Norrie vs Soon-Woo Kwon
Head-to-head: Norrie 1-0
Cameron Norrie suffered an early exit at Monte Carlo, but picked himself up with a quarterfinal run at Barcelona. The Brit used to struggle on clay due to his flat backhand, but as basically all areas of his game improved, he was able to find success on the dirt as well. Soon-woo Kwon still has very little experience on this surface, but just like his opponent, can make it work despite that. Norrie’s physical preparation, tenacity, and consistency are second to none though and he should be able to outplay the Korean in the longer rallies.
Prediction: Norrie in 2
Ilya Ivashka vs Lorenzo Musetti
Head-to-head: First meeting
Ilya Ivashka has struggled to get going this year, but his most recent two outings in Barcelona and Munich were some of his best matches in a while. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Musetti had to start from the qualifying draw, coming just two points away from getting eliminated against Spanish sensation Alejandro Moro Canas. The Italian has a game that’s tailor-made for this surface but with all the variety the youngster possesses, he still finds it hard to formulate a cohesive gameplan. The amount of natural talent is impossible to overlook though and on clay, he should have an edge over the Belarusian.
Prediction: Musetti in 3
Tommy Paul vs Jannik Sinner
Head-to-head: First meeting
Is this a potential banana skin? Perhaps, especially as the first matches in the tournament can often get more tricky than they should. However, Jannik Sinner has been an expert at pulling off close victories recently and is yet to win less than two matches at any tournament this year. Tommy Paul feels quite comfortable on clay courts (especially compared to most other Americans) but with Sinner’s consistency in 2022, the 24-year-old will be facing an uphill battle here. He’s also yet to really get into the right rhythm on the dirt this year, playing just one match in Europe so far.
Prediction: Sinner in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
