Kwon Soon-woo will face Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 32 at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday, April 20th.
Carlos Alcaraz has been in fine form this season having already won two tournaments this year. At just 18 years of age, the Spaniard is fast becoming a household name.
Alcaraz was eliminated in the third round at the Australian Open but then followed that up with success at the Rio Open, beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the final. He then ended the summer season by finishing as the victor at the Miami Open.
However, Alcaraz had a rather disappointing start to the clay season, losing against Sebastian Korda in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters last week. The teenage sensation will now be hoping to improve on his record on the European clay courts when he faces Kwon Soon-woo in Barcelona.
On the other hand, Kwon has had an underwhelming year so far. The South Korean failed to get past the second round at Adelaide, Australian Open, Montpellier, Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai. He also failed to qualify for the Monte Carlo Masters which was held last week.
Nevertheless, he did manage to get his Barcelona Open campaign off to a positive start with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Benoit Paire. The 24-year-old will be hoping to use that win to propel him to triumph over Alcaraz.
These two players have never faced each other in an ATP tournament. Their meeting on Wednesday will be the first time Alcaraz and Kwon lock horns on a tennis court.
As Kwon isn’t having a great year, our prediction is a win for the rising star Carlos Alcaraz. But given that Alcaraz is still finding his groove on a clay court, he should come out victorious in three sets.
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