It’s the No. 1 seed versus the No. 2 seed in the finals of all three ATP tournaments this week. Sunday’s 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 survival of the fittest when Fritz and Shelton battle it out for the title in Dallas on Sunday. Fritz has been dealing with knee tendinitis, an oblique injury in Australia, and now an elbow problem this week. A pair of third-set tiebreakers followed by two tiebreakers against Marin Cilic on Saturday probably didn’t help. Shelton has his right thigh heavily scarred by Denis Shapovalov in the semis and endures three straight setters.
The head-to-head series stands at 1-1 heading into Sunday. Fritz won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Masters in 2023 before Shelton beat her 6-4, 6-3 in the semis at the Toronto Masters last summer. This obviously could go either way based on the health status of each American, but Shelton seems to be the more reliable of the two from a physical standpoint – and was arguably the best player of the week.
Pick: Shelton at 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 final in Buenos Aires for the third time in his career on Sunday after finishing second to Diego Schwartzman in 2021 and Joao Fonseca last year. He gave himself another chance to win in front of his home crowd following straight wins this week over Hugo Dellien, Vit Kopriva, and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Unfortunately for Cerundolo, another formidable foe stands in his path to the trophy. Darderi is on a 17-match clay court winning streak that includes two ATP titles and one win on the Challenger Tour. The 22nd-ranked Italian earned his place in the final by beating Tomas Barrios Vera, Pedro Martinez, and Sebastian Baez in straight sets. This is a repeat of the first round in Buenos Aires 12 months ago – a match that Cerundolo won easily. However, the overall head-to-head series is 2-2 and Darderi is a very different player than he was last year.
Pick: Darderi in 3
