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Match Details
Fixture: (15) Tommy Paul vs Lukas Klein
Date: April 26, 2024
Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: La Caja Majica, Madrid, Spain
Category: Masters 1000
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €7,877,020
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Tommy Paul vs Lukas Klein preview
Following an opening-round bye, 15th seed Tommy Paul will face Lukas Klein in the second round of the 2024 Madrid Open on Friday.
Paul, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open last year, was dumped out in the third round this time. He overcame that disappointment with a title at the Dallas Open and a runner-up finish at the Delray Beach Open.
Paul's momentum came to a halt at the Mexican Open where Jack Draper knocked him out in the first round. He bounced back with a semifinal at the Indian Wells Masters.
Paul couldn't build on that result either as an injury forced him to abandon his Miami Open campaign. He hurt himself during his second-round match against Martin Damm and retired at the start of the second set. This will be his first match since then.
Klein qualified for the main draw in Madrid with wins over Pol Martin Tiffon and Thiago Agustin Tirante. He was up against Pablo Llamas Ruiz in the first round. The Slovak claimed the first set with ease as he conceded just one game in it.
Llamas Ruiz fought back as he captured the second set to level the match. The Spaniard seemed to have momentum on his side as he led 3-1 in the decider as well.
However, Klein clawed his way back into the match and later managed to take the set to a tie-break. He came out on top in it to score a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (4) win.
Tommy Paul vs Lukas Klein head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Tommy Paul vs Lukas Klein odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Tommy Paul vs Lukas Klein prediction
Klein did well to recover against Llamas Ruiz after the match almost slipped out of his hands. He won 75 percent of his first serve points and hit 33 winners in contrast to 24 unforced errors.
While most of his contemporaries have already played a handful of matches on clay by now, this will be Paul's first match on the surface. It could put him at a disadvantage against Klein, who has already played three matches here, including the qualifiers.
However, Klein has also won just five matches this season and has never beaten a top-20 player before. He did manage to push World No. 6 Alexander Zverev to five sets at the Australian Open but fell shy of scoring a huge upset.
This should give Paul enough breathing room to find his footing, especially after a month-long hiatus. Even if the American's off to a slow start, he should be able to make it through this clash.
Pick: Tommy Paul to win in three sets.
