Nordea Open: Lorenzo Musetti vs. Henri Laaksonen 7/13/21 Tennis Prediction

Sixth seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti will face unseeded Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland in the First Round of the 2021 Nordea Open. The match is scheduled to be played on Tuesday July 13th, 2021 at 9:00am EST.

An interesting First Round match is expected as exciting young talent Lorenzo Musetti will face the experienced Henri Laaksonen at the Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden. Musetti has set the world on fire over the past two seasons, and is one of the most promising young players on the ATP Tour. While he is considered the favorite here, Laaksonen is a seasoned 12 year veteran and is sure to make things difficult for the young Italian. Who will get the win here and advance to the Round of 16?

Lorenzo Musetti is currently ranked #62 in the world, and has really established himself on the ATP Tour over the past two seasons. He has shown flashes of his talent in the past, notably at last year’s Italian Open, where he stunned Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori en route to the Round of 16 as a Qualifier. Since then he has reached two ATP Semis, including the Acapulco Open, an ATP-500 event. He has a very explosive game, with his one handed backhand truly being a joy to watch. He enters this match against Henri Laaksonen as the favorite, and should be able to overpower him with his dominant baseline game. However, he should be careful as the Swiss player has a lot of experience, and won’t throw it away.

Henri Laaksonen is ranked over 50 places behind his opponent Lorenzo Musetti, at #134. While he is unseeded here at the 2021 Nordea Open, he has tons of experience, and has had some big wins throughout his 12 year career on the ATP Tour. He has been struggling lately, playing both on the ATP Tour and the Challenger Tour, but experience is always vital, and will be extra useful here against the relatively inexperienced Italian. Laaksonen has a huge serve and will likely be counting on that here, and once he keeps his errors low he should be able to stick in this match for a while.

It is always tough to predict matches when youngsters are involved, but Lorenzo Musetti is a different breed, and has shown extreme maturity in his game despite his young age of 19. If he can focus throughout and limit how many free points he gives away, he should have no problems here dispatching of Henri Laaksonen. The Swiss is a very solid player, but definitely lacks the weapons to compete with the emerging superstar. Musetti should win in two tight sets, advancing to the Round of 16 here at the Nordea Open. The draw has been kind to him, and this is a good opportunity for him to make a deep run here in Bastad.