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)
The 34-year-old Roberto Bautista Agut will face the world No. 30, Tommy Paul, in the round of 64 of the Paris Masters.
The experienced Spaniard has blown hot and cold this year. However, he has managed to bag two titles. He won the Qatar Open earlier in the year and five months later, he picked up the Austrian Open title. In between these two triumphs, Bautista Agut narrowly missed out on winning the title in the Mallorca Open. He gave Stefanos Tsitsipas a good run for his money in the final but eventually came up short.
The former world No. 9 enters the tournament on the back of a run to the semis at the Basel Open. He lost to Holger Rune in a competitive two-set encounter. Last year at the Paris Masters, the Spanish veteran crashed out in the first round itself after losing to James Duckworth in three sets.
The 25-year-old ended last year on a high with a win in the Stockholm Open. This year has not been a memorable one as Paul has not been able to reach a single final. His best result came in the Delray Beach Open where he made it to the semis. Other than that, Paul has struggled to get past the quarterfinals. He has lost 8 quarterfinals so far this year.
The American tennis pro most recently played in the Vienna Open. He won the first set of his first-round match against Dominic Thiem but went down fighting in the next couple of sets. Last year, Paul made it to the main draw after winning a couple of qualifying matches. He defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round of the main draw before going down to Hubert Hurkacz in the round of 32.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 3-0 in favor of Roberto Bautista Agut. He defeated Paul in their most recent encounter at the 2021 Canadian Open in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
Prediction: Roberto Bautista Agut to win in three sets.
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