Hamburg Open 2022: Lorenzo Musetti vs. Francisco Cerundolo Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Hamburg Open as Lorenzo Musetti takes on Francisco Cerundolo in the semifinal on Saturday, July 23rd, 2022.

Will Lorenzo Musetti reach his first ATP final at the Hamburg Open? Or will Francisco Cerundolo’s irresistible form be too much to bear for the Italian one-hander? Either way this will be a gripping clash of styles between two in-form players.

Lorenzo Musetti’s debut appearance at the Hamburg Open is going to plan. The Italian one-hander reached the semifinals of the prestigious ATP 500 tournament on the clay courts of northern Germany. After snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in his first-round match against Dusan Lajovic, he has looked in terrific form since. Musetti defeated the likes of Emil Ruusuvuori and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets. The 20-year-old is now certain to break the world’s top 50 for the first time regardless of Saturday’s outcome. But the flamboyant Italian will want to leave Hamburg on a high note. Will he advance into the final?

Francisco Cerundolo will be on the roadblock. There are not many players in better form in the world right now than the 23-year-old from Buenos Aires. Cerundolo has scored a top 10 win in successive weeks. First he defeated Casper Ruud last week on his way to winning his first ATP title in Bastad. Then, he proceeded to shock Andrey Rublev with some silky hitting at the Hamburg Open. His quarterfinal win over Aslan Karatsev has probably squeezed more juice out of his legs for one potentially final hurrah. Will he have enough gas in the tank?

Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo have not played each other on the ATP tour. Both players have hit their strides in recent weeks. And for Cerundolo in particular, this has been a dream run. He is already sitting at a career-high ranking of No. 30 and will likely vault even higher at the end of tournament. The Argentine has teared almost every pre-match script in the last week or so, he is definitely a very well-conditioned athlete. But there was a signal in his quarterfinal match against Karatsevthat he is running on empty. And if Musetti can continue to hit the ball as dexterously and effortlessly as he has done at this week’s Hamburg Open, he could be the man to end Cerundolo’sstreak.