ATP Madrid Day 4 Predictions: Jannik Sinner vs. Lorenzo Sonego
Jannik Sinner will play his first Masters 1000 match as the top seed on an action-packed Saturday at the ATP Madrid Open. He will not be the only Top 10 player competing, as Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, and Grigor Dimitrov are also likely to play.
As always, we at LWOT will provide predictions for each match on the slate. We divided the remaining matches into three articles: Daniil Medvedev vs Matteo Arnaldi, Rafael Nadal vs Alex de Minaur, and Casper Ruud vs Miomir Kecmanovic. So, who will advance?
Stefanos Tsitsipas found it difficult to see his younger rivals take center stage and win all of the accolades. In the first quarter of the season, he fell out of the world’s top ten for the first time since 2019. But he swiftly recovered that golden touch at the start of the clay season, reaching two consecutive finals and winning his third title in Monte Carlo.
Thiago Monteiro regained his footing after losing five of his previous six matches. He has addressed that decline with three wins in Madrid, starting with qualifying. However, Tsitsipas is currently hitting the ball with remarkable authority. It’s hard to imagine him turning this match into a melee.
Medjedovic hadn’t played much tennis this year until this week, when he faced two rounds of qualifying. In the first round, he narrowly defeated Alexander Kovacevc. Lehecka has also been AWOL for much of the buildup to Roland Garros.
In fact, this is the first clay-court match since July 2023. He has been suffering from a reported back issue for a month. With so much question around the Czech’s fitness, Medjedovic could be the guy to capitalize on this opportunity.
Ben Shelton’s maiden appearance in this competition last year ended in a three-set defeat against Jan-Lennard Struff. At the moment, it appeared that the American had squandered his opportunity, but the big-serving German went on to win his maiden Masters 1000 title by reaching the final as a lucky loser. So, looking back, Shelton may be proud of his accomplishments.
Twelve months later, he does not have the luxury of a comfortable first encounter in Madrid. Tomas Machac has been quietly making progress in the standings after a string of impressive achievements and performances.
Shelton will compete for the first time since capturing the championship in Houston over three weeks ago. However, with his improved rally tolerance and self-belief on this surface, he is the small favorite in this match.
Sinner and Sonego know each other well. They’ve been doubles teammates and practiced together previously. However, the older of the two Italians has yet to figure out the remedy in this battle.
In four prior confrontations, the Australian Open winner dominated, losing only one of ten sets. As the top seed in a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time, Sinner is anticipated to add even more luster to his victory here.
