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30th-seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had to work hard to book his place in the Second Round of the Australian Open. What challenge will America’s Tommy Paul be able to mount against him with a potential Third Round clash against 2nd seed Casper Ruud awaiting the winner?
These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Tommy Paul – Match Predictions
Contents
This could be a tense Second Round clash in Melbourne between two players close together in the world rankings. Read our tennis predictions for this evenly-matched looking duel.
Over 38.5 Total Games
On paper this looks like being a tight encounter. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Tommy Paul are ranked 32nd and 35th in the world respectively. They are of very similar height and build, therefore it may be worth leaning towards an extended encounter.
For the first of our match predictions we are going over 38.5 games in the match, which could just cover a tight scrap over four sets, or the match being pushed to a decider. Davidovich Fokina’s First Round match went well over the total.
Tommy Paul -1.5 Handicap
We are just swinging with Paul as the pick in the match outright for this fixture. That is because the American has the tighter game on the hard court surface than his opponent does. The former Junior US Open runner-up made a convincing start to this Grand Slam.
He should have the fresher legs of the two after a straight-sets opening win. So if this does unravel into the expected drawn out contest, Paul may just have the fitness to get him across the line successfully.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Tommy Paul Preview
Having made our Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Tommy Paul tennis predictions, next we look at a bit of their prior AO history and what form they currently have under their respective belts.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
30th seed Davidovich Fokina finds himself as the underdog in the tennis betting outright. He huffed and puffed his way through his First Round match against Alexander Bublik. To his credit the Spaniard rallied from 2-1 down to grind out the win. This is just his third Australian Open campaign, having fallen at this very stage in the previous two.
Tommy Paul
Tommy Paul raced away to a comfortable 3-0 set win over qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff in his opening match in Melbourne. He dropped just the nine games along the way. So that should keep the American fresh and firing. Paul made a bit of progress in the Slams last year, with a Third Round appearance at the US Open and a Fourth Round place at Wimbledon. Like his opponent, he’s fallen at the Second Round stage in his last two Australian Open appearances, but did make the Third Round on his debut in 2020.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Tommy Paul Head to Head
This Second Round clash at the Australian Open 2023 will be the first meeting between Davidovich Fokina and Tommy Paul.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Tommy Paul Match Details
- When will the match start? The match will start from 02:00 am GMT on Thursday, January 19th.
- On which court will the match be played? The match will be played on Court 7 in Melbourne.
- Where to watch AO 2023 in UK? You can watch Australian Open on Eurosport broadcast and online, or stream it on Discovery +.
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