The group stage continues on Day 3 of the Nitto ATP Finals, with opening day winners Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz battling it out for a likely place in the next round, while Alex De Minaur faces Lorenzo Musetti, as both try to remain in the tournament.  As always, we at LWOT will offer predictions for both matches, but who will win?

Alex De Minaur vs Lorenzo Musetti

Head–to–Head:  De Minaur 1 – 3 Musetti

Would ordinarily have gone for Lorenzo Musetti to win this, given his dominance in their head-to-head, but the Italian is tired. He looked quite jaded as he lost to Taylor Fritz in his debut in Turin, and the reason isn’t far-fetched. He has played a ton of matches over the fortnight, and while the home fans will try to galvanise him, it remains to be seen if his body will match the aura.

Musetti rarely loses consecutive matches, but he’s done that this week to amplify his fatigue, and I think he will endure a third successive loss to the Australian baseliner.
Prediction: De Minaur in 3

Carlos Alcaraz vs Taylor Fritz

Head–to–Head: Alcaraz 3 vs 0 Fritz

The two opening match winners in the Jimmy Connors group, Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, meet at the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday afternoon. Both players are well acquainted, having faced each other thrice this season.

While Fritz is clearly the underdog, the sixth-ranked American arrived in Turin well-rested and showed that by comfortably defeating Lorenzo Musetti with little exertion in the opening round, even though many will argue the Italian was suffering from fatigue.

Apart from winning the title, finishing as the year-end No. 1 spot after will be on the Spaniard’s mind, and he cannot afford to lose if he wants to achieve that.

Fritz has a fair chance of winning this match. The surface is advantageous for him, he was the runner-up to Sinner last year in Turin, and his historical record against Alcaraz is pretty competitive.

That being said, if the top seed executes his backhand with the same precision as he did in the second set against de Minaur, an upset may be beyond the American.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 3

Main Photo Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images