It’s the No. 1 seed versus the No. 2 seed in the finals of all three ATP tournaments this week. Sunday’s blockbuster tennis program includes Taylor Fritz vs. Ben Shelton in Dallas and Francisco Cerundolo vs. Luciano Darderi in Buenos Aires.
Dallas Open: (1) Taylor Fritz vs. (2) Ben Shelton
It will be a survival of the fittest situation when Fritz and Shelton battle for the title in Dallas on Sunday. Fritz has dealt with knee tendonitis, an oblique injury in Australia and now this week an elbow problem. A pair of tiebreaks in the third set, followed by two tiebreaks against Marin Cilic on Saturday, probably won’t help matters. Shelton badly taped his right thigh against Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals and has endured three straight three-setters.
The mutual series is 1-1 on Sunday. Fritz won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters before Shelton won 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals of last summer’s Toronto Masters. This could obviously go either way depending on the health status of each American, but Shelton appears to be the more reliable of the two from a physical standpoint – and he may be the best player overall this week.
Choice: Shelton in 3
Argentina Open: (1) Francisco Cerundolo vs. (2) Luciano Darderi
Is the third time the charm for Cerundolo? The 19th-ranked Argentine will play in the Buenos Aires final for the third time in his career on Sunday, after finishing second in 2021 behind Diego Schwartzman and Joao Fonseca last year. He has given himself another chance to triumph in front of his home crowd after back-to-back victories this week over Hugo Dellien, Vit Kopriva and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Unfortunately for Cerundolo, another extremely formidable foe stands in his way of the trophy. Darderi is on a 17-match winning streak on clay, with two ATP titles and one win on the Challenger Tour. The 22nd seeded Italian secured his place in this final by beating Tomas Barrios Vera, Pedro Martinez and Sebastian Baez in straight sets. This is a repeat of the first round of Buenos Aires twelve months ago – a match that Cerundolo won with ease. However, the overall head-to-head series is tied 2-2 and Darderi is a very different player than he was a year ago.
Choice: Darderi in 3
#Tennis #picks #predictions #Fritz #Shelton #Cerundolo #Darderi