Arthur Fils vs Francisco Cerundolo Prediction & Betting Tips - Lyon, France

Prediction published on 26/05/2023, 16:46  by Kennedy Kechula | Modified on 27/05/2023 at 00:30 in Tennis Predictions

The final of the Lyon Open will be contested by the wildcard Arthur Fils and fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo on Saturday. Arthur Fils has been the surprise package of this year’s edition. In his debut tournament in Lyon, the Frenchman has managed to advance to his first-ever tour final. This monumental achievement has also had a similar effect on his world ranking. Fils has made his top 100 debut thanks to advancing to the final and is currently ranked 85th in the live ranking. He has had luck on his side though as he has only played two entire matches out of the scheduled four. Felix Auger-Aliassime handed him a walkover in the quarterfinals while Mikael Ymer was disqualified in their second-round battle. Fils defeated Brandon Nakashima in three sets in the semifinals. The last and only final that Fils played was the French Open Junior Grand Slam in 2021. The 18-year-old is comfortable playing on clay and has this season won nine of the 14 matches he has played on the surface. This is the first-ever match between him and Francisco but he has played against his younger brother Juan Manuel in Rome. He won that first-round match to record his first main draw win at an ATP Masters on clay.

Francisco Cerundolo is much more experienced than Fils and is now preparing for the third Singles tour final of his career. All three have been on clay and he won his last final in Sweden last season. Cerundolo also favours playing on clay and there has been no exception this year. The Argentine number one has claimed 19 wins so far in 2023 with 13 of them coming on clay. This is Cerundolo’s second appearance in Lyon and he has excelled after failing to win a match in his debut last year. He has dropped one set from the three matches he has played and beat second seed Cameron Norrie in the semifinals. His second-round showdown with Juan Pablo Varillas ended prematurely after the first set due to Varillas retiring injured. Cerundolo is up one place to 27th in the live ranking.