The second set of group matches at the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals gets underway in Turin on Tuesday with two singles games and two from the doubles competition which may yield our first semi-finalists of the tournament.
It is the day where the likes of Carlos Alcaraz will be back on the court with the winners from the opening matches facing each other and the losers also doing battle with the qualifying picture likely to be much clearer by the end of the day.
Day Session
Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos vs Simone Bolelli & Andrea Vavassori
The doubles match to get the day underway looks a cracking contest as our pre-tournament pick for the doubles competition, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos take on the home pairing of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
These are two quality pairings and therefore even though the Italians were the outsiders in their opening match, it shouldn’t be seen as a huge surprise that both won their first game. That sets them up perfectly for this one with the winners either moving into the semi-finals or being on the edge of progressing to them while the loser will still be in control of their destiny going into the final match. Bolelli and Vavassori took care of the top seeds in their first match while Granollers and Zeballos saw off the defending champions. I really like the Spanish-Argentine combo in this tournament but I’m happy to let the outright bet form my interest in this one rather than get involved in them again at odds on.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Taylor Fritz
The singles match in the day session sees the two top seeds in the group meeting for the right to be two wins from two when Carlos Alcaraz goes up against the beaten finalist here last year in the form of the former US Open finalist Taylor Fritz.
Both men had comfortable straight sets wins in their first game and therefore whoever wins this one will near enough be guaranteed their spot in the semi-final. There is a school of thought that Alcaraz is most vulnerable on an indoor court although he looked in mean form against Alex de Minaur on Sunday but the bigger issue in the match is the fact that Fritz is playing in successive days, which at this stage of a season is never the easiest thing in the world especially when you’re about to face a firecracker like Alcaraz. The Spaniard leads the head-to-head between the two 5-1 but Fritz did win in not too dissimilar conditions at the Laver Cup and that will give him confidence but the odds look about right to me so I’ll leave this one alone.
Special Offer
Open a new Sporting Index account and bet £10 on the tournament (min odds 1/2) to get £20 in free bets (2x£10 free bets) to use on any sports market! Click the image below to take advantage of this great offer! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly.
Night Session
Julian Cash & Lloyd Glasspool vs Kevin Krawietz & Tim Puetz
The doubles match in the night session is pretty much do or die for the two teams involved as the number one seeds go up against the reigning champions when the British pair of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool meet the German duo of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.
Both teams were beaten in their first match but the German pair did win a set so they are in a slightly better position ahead of this one. There is something about this building which brings out the better showing of Krawietz and Puetz because having won the tournament a year ago they then put in a decent showing in the opening game here, albeit in defeat. You can probably allow Cash and Glasspool their loss in the first match. They were against the home pairing and as a pair themselves were playing in the tournament for the first time with Cash making his debut in the event. You would imagine the top seeds will come on for the run now and if the head-to-head record between these pairs is anything to go by then they look worthy favourites. They have met five times and it is 4-1 to Cash and Glasspool and they have won the last four and won them all in straight sets including in Paris a couple of weeks ago. That makes me tempted by the 6/4 on the top seeds to win 2-0 for a fifth meeting in a row but there is something about the Germans in this venue that puts me off opposing them so I’ll leave this one alone.
Lorenzo Musetti vs Alex de Minaur
The last match of a really good looking day of tennis in Turin concludes with the home man Lorenzo Musetti continuing his debut in the season finale when he faces the other debutant in this group in the form of Alex de Minaur.
Both men lost their opening match in straight sets so the loser of this one is in all likelihood going to be out of the tournament so that should ensure they draw everything they have got out of themselves in a bid to win and keep their hopes of progressing alive. I do fear for Musetti here though. He looked so leggy in the loss to Taylor Fritz on Monday, as you would expect with the amount of tennis he has played recently in a bid to make it into this tournament, and now he has to go up against the machine of de Minaur just over 24 hours later and that doesn’t feel like an ideal situation. De Minaur has had maximum rest and recovery time having played on Sunday afternoon and he gave as good as he got from Carlos Alcaraz for large parts in that match. This just feels like the schedule and everything has gone against Musetti and while the crowd will try and keep him going, they can’t control his legs and the relentless energy of the Australian should be way too much here.
Tips
Back A.de Minaur (-3.5 games) to beat L.Musetti for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Boylesports
Back him here:
