Russia's Aslan Karatsev hits a return against Spain's Jaume Munar during their men's singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 17, 2022. - -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by MARTIN KEEP/AFP via Getty Images)
Moreno de Alboran will take on top seed Aslan Karatsev in the final round of qualifiers at the French Open
Aslan Karatsev is the top seed in the qualifying phase of the French Open and he has played like one so far. The Russian is yet to drop a set in the qualifiers and will have his eyes set on sealing a main draw berth at the clay-court Grand Slam.
Karatsev is in good form and is coming off a semi-final appearance at the Madrid Open earlier this month. There is no doubt that he is high on confidence but there is certainly no room for complacency in this knock-out format.
The No.1 seed began his Qualifying campaign with a 7-6, 7-6 victory against local lad Pierre-Hugues Herbert. He then registered a convincing 7-5, 6-3 win over Nick Hardt to set up a clash against Moreno de Alboran. Karatsev will certainly fancy his chances against the low-ranked American but there’s a lot at stake and he can take nothing for granted.
Moreno de Alboran is a regular in the Challengers and hasn’t got enough experience of playing at the senior ATP level. He has managed to carve out two commendable victories in the previous but his performances have been far from convincing. He began his campaign with a win against Yu Hsu before causing an upset against No.18 seed Aleksandar Vukic. The American will have to be on top of his game if he has to have any chance of getting the better of Karatsev in the final qualifying round.
Date – Friday, 26th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis
Channel Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Paris
Match details – Quarter-final
Karatsev and Moreno de Alboran have never played each other before on the ATP tour. This is the first professional head to head clash between the two players. On paper, the top seed is the favourite both in terms of form and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out the promising American and he is expected to put up a tough fight. We are predicting a close encounter but Aslan Karatsev should prevail in straight sets.
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