Paris Masters 2022: Marin Cilic vs. Lorenzo Musetti Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Paris Masters as Marin Cilic takes on Lorenzo Musetti in the first round on Monday, October 31st, 2022.

Will Marin Cilic get his Paris Masters campaign off to a winning start? Or will Lorenzo Musetti gear up for the Next Gen ATP Finals with confidence-boosting win against the former Grand Slam champion? This should be a fascinating battle between two players who are looking to shake off a first-round defeat at their last tournament.

Marin Cilic is the 15th seed at the Paris Masters and has a half-decent record at this tournament. He made the semifinals in 2016, scoring a memorable win over Novak Djokovic in the process. Although he has made back-to-back quarterfinals in subsequent years, he was eliminated in the second round last season. With just one win in his last four matches, the Croatian big hitter will need to address that mediocre return in Bercywhen he takes on the in-form Lorenzo Musetti.

Lorenzo Musetti, however, also suffered an early exit at his last tournament in Basel, losing in the first round to Albert Ramos Vinolas. It was a shock defeat that brought an end to his four-match win streak built from his title success in Naples. Musettiwill play at the Next Gen ATP Finals following the conclusionof the Paris Masters, and will be keen to head there with a big win over former Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic.

Marin Cilic leads Lorenzo Musetti 1-0 in their head-to-head. Cilic won that meeting at the Miami Masters last season in straight sets. Musetti is a much-improved player these days now that he has developed an all-court game that has proved effective in defeating high-caliber opponents. His serve has improved immeasurably adding a little more pace to it. His ground strokes and overall net game should come in handy on an indoor hard court. Cilic is no slouch on this surface, but the young Italian is riding on a wave of momentum heading to the Paris Masters.