ACAPULCO, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 22: Tommy Paul of the United States plays a forehand during a match between Tommy Paul of the United States and Matteo Berrettini of Italy as part of day 2 of the Telcel ATP Mexican Open 2022 at Arena GNP Seguros on February 22, 2022 in Acapulco, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
No.2 seed Tommy Paul will face the challenge of Yannick Hanfmann in the Round of 16 at ATP Houston Open
Tommy Paul has been in decent touch coming into the ATP Houston tournament. The local favourite started 2023 with a bang, making it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open before losing to Novak Djokovic.
He has been very consistent on the tour and made it to the final of the Mexican Open last month. Paul suffered Round of 16 exits at the ‘Sunshine Double’ but he did give a good account of himself in both tournaments. Paul is seeded No.2 in Houston and is certainly one of the favourites to go all the way and clinch the title.
Hanfmann has made it to the main draw of the tournament after playing two rounds of qualifiers. The 31-year-old German beat Enzo Couacaud and Facundo Diaz Acosta in the two qualifying rounds. In his first-round match of the main draw, Hanfmann defeated Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in a thrilling encounter to set up a second-round clash against Tommy Paul.
Details:
Date – Thursday, 6th April
Court Type – Clay surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – 04:30 am I.S.T
Location – River Oaks Country Club
Match details – Round of 16
Hanfmann and Paul have played each other once before on the ATP tour. The underdog Hanfmann emerged victorious on that occasion in 2021. The German defeated Paul 7-6, 5-7, 6-3 at the clay tournament in Cagliari and leads the overall head-to-head 1-0.
However, the American is the clear favourite going into this match both in terms of form and rankings. It will be an uphill task for Hanfmann in this encounter but he is expected to pose a tough challenge. We are predicting a win in three sets for Tommy Paul.
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