Seeds Lorenzo Musetti and Alex de Minaur will get their Paris campaigns underway on Wednesday after benefitting from first-round byes. They are going up against Lorenzo Sonego and Gabriel Diallo, respectively.
(7) Lorenzo Musetti vs. Lorenzo Sonego
It will be an all-Italian affair when Musetti and Sonego go head-to-head for just the second time in their careers in round two of the Rolex Paris Masters on Wednesday afternoon. Their only previous meeting came almost exactly 12 months ago, when Musetti cruised 6-2, 6-2 on the indoor hard courts of Vienna.
That kind of result was nothing new for Sonego, who has built a decent career for himself by beating lower-ranked players on a somewhat consistent basis, but he almost never challenges higher-ranked opponents. A fellow Italian near the top of the rankings on the other side of the net is probably the worst possible scenario for Sonego. The world No. 45 did well to defeat Sebastian Korda on Monday, but a red-hot Musetti is an entirely different proposition. Count on the seventh seed taking one more step en route to a Nitto ATP Finals berth.
Pick: Musetti in 2
Gabriel Diallo vs. (6) Alex de Minaur
De Minaur is ahead of Musetti in the year-end championship race, among the next in line to qualify behind Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. The sixth-ranked Australian is 53-20 this season and has not lost prior to the quarterfinals of any event since Cincinnati. This stretch includes a quarterfinal showing at the U.S. Open, a semifinal run in Beijing, and a quarterfinal finish in Shanghai.
Up first for De Minaur on Wednesday is a second meeting with Diallo, who lost their only previous encounter 6-4, 7-5 at the 2023 Toronto Masters. The 42nd-ranked Canadian is an entirely different player now, but he probably still lacks the consistency to seriously compete with this particular opponent. De Minaur also likes faster surfaces, but in this matchup it is Diallo who would really benefit from being able to play shorter rallies.
Pick: De Minaur in 2
