Lorenzo Musetti vs Alibek Kachmazov Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Chengdu Open

Prediction published on 22/09/2024, 07:16  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 22/09/2024 at 12:17 in Tennis Predictions

Top seed Lorenzo Musetti faces qualifier Alibek Kachmazov in the Chengdu Open semi-final. The qualifier began this tournament ranked outside the world's top 250. Can he cause an upset? Here's our match prediction.

It's been a return to form for Lorenzo Musetti this week in China. The world number 19 was in excellent form earlier in the summer, though mainly on clay and grass. This is his first hard court semi-final of the year.

The Italian can move up to 18th in the live rankings if winning this match. In the Live ATP Race, Musetti is 15th and struggling to make it into the end-of-season ATP Tour Finals that are being held in Italy this year.

This week has seen Musetti play two matches so far. He beat unseeded Christopher O'Connell in three sets after losing the first. Another three-setter followed as he defeated fifth seed Adrian Mannarino, this time losing the middle one.

Alibek Kachmazov is having the best week of his tennis career. The world number 252 has risen to a career-high 178th as a result of reaching this semi-final. It's the first time he's been in the world's top 200.

The Russian has spent most of the year playing on lower tours and had to qualify to make it into round one of this ATP Tour hard court tournament. He did that without dropping a set in his two matches.

Those wins took him into the main draw of an ATP Tour event for the first time this year. Wins have come over Aleksandar Kovacevic, Taro Daniel and the third seed Nicolas Jarry, all in straight sets.

We believe his excellent run will come to an end here and tip Musetti to win the match.