Lorenzo Musetti vs Roman Safiullin Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Miami

Prediction published on 22/03/2024, 08:46  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 22/03/2024 at 09:46 in ATP Miami Predictions

Lorenzo Musetti bids to reach the third round of the Miami Open for only the second time. The 23rd seed faces unseeded Roman Safiullin with the winner taking on either 16th seed Ben Shelton or wild card Martin Landaluce in round three. Musetti's only previous appearance in the third round of this outdoor hard court Masters 1000 tournament was in 2021. He lost at this stage of the tournament last year. Musetti is ranked 24th in the world but only 79th in the Live ATP Race based on points earned this year. His best performance in 2024 has been a quarter final reached in Adelaide, though he only had to win one match to get that far. He's yet to win two successive matches in a tournament this year and lost five of his last six.

Roman Safiulliin has had two previous matches against Musetti and won them both. The only one in an ATP Tour main draw was in the Chengdu outdoor hard court tournament last ear when he won in straight sets. Safiullin beat qualifier Diego Schwartzman in straight sets in round one for the loss of only six games. He's in round two in Miami for the first time and has a good chance of making it further. Safiullin is 39th in the live rankings but only 99th in the Live ATP Race. He's reached one hard court semi-final in Brisbane two months ago. He lacks consistency but had a good win over Daniel Evans in Indian Wells. We tip him to get a win over Musetti.