Damien Kayat previews Danil Medvedev v Laslo Dere and Lorenzo Musetti v Ben Shelton in selected round of 16 matches of the Halle Open and Cinch Championships, on the 21st of June 2023.
2022/23 ATP Tour
ATP 500 Series
Halle Open
Selected Round of 16 Matches, 21 June
Danil Medvedev 1/10 | Laslo Djere 56/10
Novak Djokovic’s sensational Grand Slam performances have taken some of the glamour away for Medvedev’s brilliant year. His first-round victory over Giron took his brilliant 2023 record to 40-6. The Russian has won five titles this year and he will feel emboldened by the fact that Russian players will be allowed to compete at this year’s Wimbledon Championships. And he has certainly made some real strides on grass over the last few years.
He won his one and only grass-court title at the 2021 Mallorca Open. Last year he reached back-to-back finals in Rosmalen and Halle. He had never won in this event before reaching last year’s final. Medvedev has also never gone beyond the 4th round of Wimbledon. And he is coming off a shock first-round defeat to Adrian Mannarino at this year’s Rosmalen event. His big serve and formidable forehand should make him an excellent grass-court competitor. But he sometimes appears a bit ungainly on this surface and battles with the lower bounce.
Serbian journeyman Laslo Djere is coming off a workmanlike straight-sets win against Oscar Otte. The Serb has actually enjoyed a pretty decent ten months or so. He has tasted much of his success on clay (the most significant title of his career was his Rio Open triumph in 2019). But he showed that he can perform well on quicker surfaces by reaching the final of last year’s Winston-Salem Open. And this season has seen him rack up a few important milestones.
He recorded his maiden victory against a top 5 player with victory over Rudd at the ASB Classic. And he is fresh off a maiden Masters 1000 4th round appearance in Rome. He will know that Medvedev isn’t a hundred percent comfortable on grass and will be looking to cause a huge upset here.
The Verdict: Medvedev to win in three-
These two share the head-to-head spoils 1-1. Medvedev was forced to withdraw from their 2017 clash in Budapest while the Russian easily beat the Serb in last year’s French Open. I think Djere will draw plenty of confidence from that victory against Otte.
He will look to move the Russian from side to side and test his footing on these surfaces. I think this could prove a tricky test for Medvedev. But he should still persevere in three sets.
2022/23 ATP Tour
ATP 500 Series
Cinch Championships
Selected Round of 16 Matches, 21 June
Lorenzo Musetti 48/100 | Ben Shelton 16/10
21-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti is one of those NextGen talents who has risen steadily up the world rankings (he currently sits at a career-high of 16). A typical clay-court specialist, Musetti won his first two titles in 2022. And he has been ultra-consistent this year with five quarterfinals to his name. His best result was an excellent final-four run in Barcelona last week. He looked good on the grass-courts in Stuttgart, winning his first two matches comfortably before a tough three-set defeat to Tiafoe. He has a deceptively powerful serve that allows him to accumulate plenty of free points. His forehand has improved over the past year and his single-handed backhand is a thing of beauty.
He actually looks like he could have what it takes to make an impact on these surfaces. His sound first-round win against Brit Choinski took his win-loss record for the year to 19-14.
20-year-old American Blake Shelton has really struggled to deal with the expectations generated by his brilliant performance at this year’s Aussie Open. The former college star defied the entire world with an unheralded run to the Aussie Open quarterfinals. He served like a monster and just overwhelmed players with his brute power.
But he has failed to build on that breakthrough and he will be hoping that the grass can open some doors to him. He can use his serve to dominate on this surface and he also loves to serve and volley. He just beat J.J Wolff in a repeat of their Aussie Open 4th round match. This could prove to be brutal clash between two big-serving stars of tomorrow.
The Verdict: Shelton to win in three
This will be the first career meeting between these two. Shelton is going to look to use that massive left-handed serve ala Ivanisevic. I think he will pepper that serve down the T.
I think Musetti will struggle to cope with that huge service motion. I really think the American has a chance of pulling through this match.
