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American number two, Frances Tiafoe, looks to keep his hopes of winning his first ATP 1000 event alive as he takes on Alejandro Tabilo in the last 16 at Indian Wells. In reaching the fourth round in Florida, Tiafoe has already secured his best-ever performance at the event but will be backing himself to reach the quarter-finals by overcoming Tabilo on home soil. Here are our predictions for the match.
Prediction 1
Total sets - 3
17/20 (2.70)
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Odds from
Prediction 2
Set 1 - 9-10 games
10/11 (1.91)
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Odds from
These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.
Frances Tiafoe vs Alejandro Tabilo – Match Predictions
Contents
Total sets – 3
Although Tiafoe is rightfully the favourite to win the match, we don’t think it’s going to be as straightforward as the bookmakers think. Tabilo had to come through qualifying to even make the first round at Indian Wells, meaning he has won five games to reach this stage of the tournament. Tiafoe, on the other hand, has only had to twin two meaning the Chilean is far more used to the courts at Indian Wells.
Not only that but Tabilo has also won all three of his main draw matches in straight sets, demonstrating that he isn’t someone you want to take lightly. Tiafoe is also in good form, which suggests this could be a cracker that goes the distance.
Set 1 – 9-10 games
In Tabilo’s last five matches, four of the opening sets have lasted between 9-10 games while the same can be said for four of Tiafoe’s last six. We believe that the first set will be a tight affair split only by one break of serve. While we wouldn’t want to say which player will get the break, we believe that a 6-3 or 6-4 opening set is a likely outcome.
Frances Tiafoe vs Alejandro Tabilo Preview
Both men are enjoying good runs of form at this moment in time, albeit it at different levels of the game. Let’s take a closer look at each player.
Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe has been on the ATP Tour for so long now that it’s easy to forget that he is still just 25 years old. A run to the semi-finals at the US Open at the back end of last year has seemingly given Tiafoe another level of confidence that could see him finally break into the top ten this year.
A win at this level could do wonders for him with his only victory on tour so far coming in a 250 event. So far at Indian Wells, he has enjoyed straight sets victories over Marcos Giron and Jason Kubler.
Alejandro Tabilo
Also aged 25, Alejandro Tabilo simply doesn’t possess the same skill level as Tiafoe. That being said, he is a far better player than his ranking of 187 suggests as can be seen by his results this week. Most impressively, perhaps, was the way he took apart 32nd seed, Maxime Cressy, in the second round.
A win over Tiafoe would catapult him up the rankings and could give him the springboard he needs to have a successful year on tour.
Frances Tiafoe vs Alejandro Tabilo Head to Head
The pair played against each other at a Challenger event in 2020 with Tiafoe winning 6-4, 6-2. This is their only previous encounter.
Frances Tiafoe vs Alejandro Tabilo Match Details
- When is the match going to be played? The match is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14th at around 18:00 UK time.
- Where I can watch it in the UK? Amazon Prime is the place to watch every Indian Wells match.
- What surface will the match be played on? The match is set to be played on an outdoor hard court.
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