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Match details
Fixture: (4) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benoit Paire.
Date: 22 January 2022.
Tournament: Australian Open 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: Melbourne, Australia.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $75,000,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benoit Paire preview
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will set his sights on a fourth-round berth at the Australian Open when he meets World No. 56 Benoit Paire on Saturday.
Tsitsipas' finish to an incredible 2021 season was marred by an elbow injury for which he underwent surgery in November. The Roland Garros runner-up returned to action at the ATP Cup earlier this month.
He lost to Diego Schwartzman in three sets but secured a win against Nikoloz Basilashvili when the Georgian retired at 1-4 in the first set.
The Greek isn't back to his best yet but has been gaining in confidence with each win at the Australian Open. The two-time semifinalist kickstarted his campaign with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 win over Mikael Ymer. In the second round, he struggled for parts of the match against Sebastian Baez but ultimately had enough in the tank to pull off a 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 win.
Former World No. 18 Benoit Paire, meanwhile, has been struggling for the past few years. Apart from reaching four quarterfinals in Cordoba, Hamburg, Gstaad and Cincinnati, he didn't do anything of note in 2021.
The Frenchman started 2022 on the wrong foot as well, with losses in Melbourne and Adelaide after recovering from COVID-19.
Paire has, however, managed to bounce back strongly at the Australian Open, displaying grit and character in his first two encounters. The World No. 56 outlasted Thiago Monteiro in five sets in his opener and followed it up with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(2) upset of 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benoit Paire head-to-head
Tsitsipas leads Paire 3-1 in the head-to-head, with all four of their meetings finishing in straight sets.
While Paire won their first-ever showdown in Metz five years ago, the Greek has won their last three clashes. Their most recent face-off was in Madrid last year, where Tsitsipas emerged a 6-1, 6-2 winner.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Benoit Paire prediction
Stefanos Tsitsipas is the favorite to come through this clash due to his ranking and previous wins over Benoit Paire. However, with the fourth seed yet to attain peak form, it might not be as straightforward as his last three wins over the Frenchman.
The two-time Australian Open semifinalist's level kept fluctuating throughout his second-round match against Baez. Although Tsitsipas produced 44 winners, he struggled to keep his errors in check off both wings, racking up as many as 63 unforced errors.
Most of the time, the Greek rushed through the points instead of choosing the right moment to strike. He was also guilty of leaving a lot of open space for Baez to produce down-the-line backhand winners.
Tsitsipas needs to be careful about not repeating these mistakes against Paire. The Frenchman will bring a different kind of challenge with quick forays to the net. The tactic paid rich dividends against Dimitrov, where he won 35 of his 44 net approaches.
In order to restrict Paire, Tsitsipas has to be quick on his feet and move in to finish points at the net.
Paire also doesn't have a strong serve, leaking nine double faults against the Bulgarian. If Tsitsipas can consistently keep attacking his serve while maintaining the pace and depth on his returns, the rest of Paire's game is likely to collapse automatically.
Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in four sets.
