De Minaur, by comparison, has faced quality opponents at the worst possible times for them. In his second match, he met Daniil Medvedev, who was coming off a three-set win the evening before; De Minaur beat him 6-2, 6-2. In the quarters, he faced Grigor Dimitrov, a 33-year-old who was also coming off a three-set win the evening before. De Minaur beat him 6-0, 6-0 in 45 minutes.
Will Musetti succumb to the same fate and fail to recover in time for a battle with the Aussie? It’s possible; he’s put in a lot of miles this week, and his win over Tsitsipas was an emotional one.
But the history between Musetti and De Minaur, as well as their games, says it should be close. Their head to head is 1-1, and while De Minaur is higher-ranked, Musetti is the more natural clay-courter.
In general, though, this has been a week that has favored the rested. Once again, that’s De Minaur. Winner: De Minaur