Tommy Paul will begin his week at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship when he faces Yannick Hanfmann during second-round action on Thursday.
Paul is up to 18th in the ATP rankings–which is good for the No. 2 seed in Houston–thanks in part to an awesome start to his 2023 campaign. The 25-year-old American made a run to the Australian Open semifinals, finished runner-up in Acapulco, and advanced to the fourth round in both Indian Wells and Miami.
Hanfmann is no slouch on clay, but he doesn’t have as much of a surface advantage as you might think. Paul is one of the best American clay-court players; sure that isn’t saying a lot, but it is likely enough to beat Hanfmann. Paul is the far superior all-around player–regardless of the surface.
Pick: Paul in 2
HOUSTON RESULTS
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Singles First Round
[5] JJ Wolf (USA) d. Jordan Thompson (Australia) 6-3 6-2
[7] Marcos Giron (USA) d. Emilio Gomez (Ecuador) 6-0 6-2
[8] Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Argentina) d. Juan Manuel Cerundolo (Argentina) 6-3 6-4
[Q] Tomas Machac (Czech Republic) d. [WC] Jack Sock (USA) 6-2 6-4
[Q] Yannick Hanfmann (Germany) d. [Q] Yosuke Watanuki (Japan) 6-3 3-6 6-2
Cristian Garin (Chile) d. Hugo Dellien (Bolivia) 6-3 6-0
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