It’s title day at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ATP250 Lyon) and here’s our preview for Saturday’s final of this new indoor event on tour, Taylor Fritz vs. Lorenzo Musetti, with our betting predictions.
Taylor Fritz vs Lorenzo Musetti
Fritz, the second seed and No. 14 in the world, has cruised through the week. He hasn’t dropped a set, beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert and then Daniel Altmaier 7-6(5), 6-2 in 87 minutes, before a 6-3, 7-5 win over compatriot Tommy Paul in the semifinals, hitting 15 aces and saving all nine break points he faced. It’s his 24th tour-level final and his fifth of the season, and a win would give him a 12th career title and a second this year, after Washington in August.
Musetti, the sixth seed, has fought hard, to say the least… After straightforward wins over Matteo Arnaldi (6-1, 6-4) and 17-year-old wildcard Moise Kouame (6-4, 6-4), he needed 3 hours and 33 minutes, finishing around 1 a.m., to get past Luca Van Assche 7-6(5), 6-7(7), 6-4, after letting a match point slip in the second-set tiebreak. In the semifinals he came from a set down to beat top seed Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in 2 hours 31 minutes, saving four match points. That win was also his 200th tour-level victory.
Musetti leads the head-to-head 4-3. He’s the more recent winner on a hard court, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, and he’s also beaten Fritz in a five-setter at Wimbledon. However, Fritz has won both of their previous indoor hard-court meetings, 7-6(8), 6-3 at the 2022 Davis Cup Finals and 6-3, 6-4 at the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals.
Predictions
The conditions and the schedules lean toward Fritz in this one. Musetti has played over six hours of tennis in his last two matches and has been living on the edge, this will be his toughest test yet in France and on this fast indoor hard-court I think the American will claim his 2nd title of the season.
My bet: Fritz to win in straight sets
