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Match details
Fixture: Pablo Carreno Busta vs Hugo Gaston
Tournament: Rolex Paris Masters 2020
Round: Round of 64 (First round)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: €3,901,015
Match timing: Not before 6.30 pm local time, 11 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six / Sony Liv
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Hugo Gaston preview
Ninth seed Pablo Carreno Busta has a tough opening round match at the 2020 Paris Masters. The Spaniard, who is still in the running for the last qualification spot at the ATP Finals, will have his work cut out against 20-year-old wildcard Hugo Gaston.
Gaston announced his arrival at the big stage by reaching the fourth round of this year's French Open. The French teenager, who was largely competing on the Challenger circuit up until this year, made the most of his home advantage at Roland Garros.
He started off with wins over a couple of lesser-known opponents, before shocking former champion Stan Wawrinka in the round of 32. And while he would go on to lose his fourth round match to Dominic Thiem, Gaston drew a lot of attention for his tenacity and court craft throughout that week.
It would be easy to look at the Roland Garros run as a touchstone for Gaston's young career, but clay is actually not his favorite surface. The Frenchman's crafty style, which involves a lot of slices and drop shots as well as short angle lefty returns, is best suited for quicker courts.
Gaston will be looking at this opening round match against Carreno Busta as a big opportunity to showcase just that.
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Hugo Gaston head-to-head
Pablo Carreno Busta and Hugo Gaston have never crossed paths on the tour before, so their current head-to-head stands at 0-0.
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Hugo Gaston prediction
Pablo Carreno Busta is the clear favorite heading into this match-up. Not only is he the senior player in terms of experience, but he has also had much more success this year.
The Spaniard made it to the last four at the US Open this year, equaling his career-best performance at a Slam. He followed that up with another good showing in Roland Garros, where be stretched Novak Djokovic to four sets in the quarterfinals.
Carreno Busta's last two outings in Vienna and Antwerp didn't yield great results, but that would only serve as extra motivation to do well here in Paris. He will look to take control of the match early on Monday, and not let the young Hugo Gaston get comfortable on the court.
The Frenchman already has a taste of playing in front of big home crowds. It will be interesting to see how quickly he finds his groove against someone like Carreno Busta, who doesn't give a lot away to his opponents.
If Gaston wants to stage another big upset here, he will have to bring his signature variety into the match-up. Too many easy topspin balls or passive play could simply offer Carreno Busta a chance to steamroll his way into the next round.
Prediction: Pablo Carreno Busta to win in three sets.
