It is the No. 1 seed vs. the No. 2 seed in the final of all three ATP tournaments this week. Sunday’s blockbuster tennis schedule includes Taylor Fritz vs. Ben Shelton in Dallas and Francisco Cerundolo vs. Luciano Darderi in Buenos Aires.
Dallas Open: (1) Taylor Fritz vs. (2) Ben Shelton
It will be a survival of the fittest situation when Fritz and Shelton battle for the Dallas title on Sunday. Fritz has been dealing with knee tendinitis, an oblique injury in Australia, and now an elbow issue this week. A pair of third-set tiebreakers followed by two tiebreakers against Marin Cilic on Saturday probably doesn’t help matters. Shelton has his right thigh heavily taped against Denis Shapovalov in the semis and has endured three consecutive three-setters.
The head-to-head series stands at 1-1 heading into Sunday. Fritz prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters before Shelton cruised 6-4, 6-3 in the semis of last summer’s Toronto Masters. This could obviously go either way based on each American’s health status, but Shelton seems like the more reliable of the two from a physical standpoint — plus he has arguably been the best player overall this week.
Pick: Shelton in 3
Argentina Open: (1) Francisco Cerundolo vs. (2) Luciano Darderi
Is the third time the charm for Cerundolo? The 19th-ranked Argentine will play in the Buenos Aires final for the third time in his career on Sunday after finishing runner-up to Diego Schwartzman in 2021 and Joao Fonseca last year. He has given himself another chance to triumph in front of the home crowd following straight-set wins this week over Hugo Dellien, Vit Kopriva, and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Unfortunately for Cerundolo, another extremely formidable foe stands in his way of the trophy. Darderi is on a 17-match clay-court winning streak that features two ATP titles and one triumph on the Challenger Tour. The 22nd-ranked Italian secured his spot in this final by beating Tomas Barrios Vera, Pedro Martinez, and Sebastian Baez in straight sets. This is a rematch of the Buenos Aires first round 12 months ago — a match that Cerundolo won with ease. However, the overall head-to-head series is an even 2-2 and Darderi is a much different player than he was just a year ago.
Pick: Darderi in 3