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Match Details
Fixture: (16) Tommy Paul vs Cristian Garin
Date: May 12, 2023.
Tournament: Italian Open 2023.
Round: Second Round (Round of 64).
Venue: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.
Category: Masters 1000.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €7,705,780.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Tommy Paul vs Cristian Garin
16th seed Tommy Paul will take on Cristian Garin in the second round of the 2023 Italian Open.
Paul has won 16 out of 24 matches so far this season, most notably reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open. He also made it to the final of the Mexican Open in Acapulco before losing to Alex de Minaur.
The American started his European clay-court season at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, suffering a 7-6(6), 6-2 defeat to Yannick Hanfmann in his first match. He then competed at the Madrid Open but once again lost his opening match, this time to Roman Safiullin (6-3, 7-6(3)).
Garin, on the other hand, has won 15 out of 25 matches so far this season, with his best performance being reaching the quarterfinals of the BMW Open and the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston. The Chilean also reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters after having to qualify for the main draw.
The 26-year-old entered the Italian Open after reaching the third round of the Madrid Open, where he lost 6-1, 7-6(4) to Taylor Fritz. He faced Pedro Cachin in the first round and won the opening set 6-4. However, the Argentine fought back in the second set and won it 6-3 to force the match into a decider.
Garin had a couple of match points during the third set but Cachin saved them to take the match to a tiebreak, which the Chilean won 7-5 to book his place in the second round of the Italian Open.
Tommy Paul vs Cristian Garin head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two is currently tied at 1-1 on the ATP Tour. The last match between the two came in the first round of last year's French Open, with Garin winning 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.
Tommy Paul vs Cristian Garin
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Tommy Paul vs Cristian Garin prediction
Paul is the higher-ranked player but has lost both of his previous tour-level matches on Clay. Garin, on the other hand, plays his best tennis on the surface, with nine wins out of 15 matches so far in 2023.
Paul will be eager to dictate the match from the start. The American has a solid forehand and can always mix his groundstrokes with accurate drop shots and slices. He served four aces in each of his last previous two matches on clay and will aim to fetch more of those against Garin.
The Chilean isn't the most aggressive player but his baseline game, stamina and high rally tolerance helps him do well on clay. Garin, however, will have to bring on his A game as Paul can be hard to beat on his day.
The match has the potential to be an interesting encounter and the Chilean might just about be able to get the win due to his clay-court prowess.
Pick: Garin to win in three sets.
