Jack Draper, Karen Khachanov, and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will try to stay red hot when they take the court in Paris on Wednesday. Khachanov and Mpetshi Perricard are going head-to-head, while Draper faces Taylor Fritz.
Jack Draper vs. (5) Taylor Fritz
Fritz did not have to win a single match at the Rolex Paris Masters in order to officially clinch his spot in the Nitto ATP Finals. The sixth-ranked American secured his spot when a whole host of other contenders such as Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, and Frances Tiafoe lost on Tuesday. It is a well-deserved qualification for Fritz, who is 49-20 this season with two titles and a runner-up performance at the U.S. Open.
Up first for the fifth seed on Wednesday is a fourth meeting with Draper. Fritz has taken a 2-1 lead in the head-to-head series with a pair of victories this season; in a third-set tiebreaker at the ATP 250 in Munich and 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2 at the Paris Olympics. An indoor hard court will give Draper a much better chance, just as it did last week in Vienna against all opponents. The 22-year-old Brit rolled to his second title, which carried him to a career-high ranking of No. 15 in the world. With both players in awesome form, this could be the best match of the entire second round. A slight edge from a physical standpoint goes to a well-rested Fritz.
Pick: Fritz in 3
(WC) Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Karen Khachanov
Khachanov and Mpetshi Perricard are on fire coming down the home stretch of this 2024 campaign. Mpetshi Perricard was especially impressive this past week in Basel, where he lifted the 500-point trophy after not dropping serve once in five rounds. The 21-year-old Frenchman faced only three break points in the entire event, all in the quarterfinals against Denis Shapovalov. Mpetshi Perricard was up to similar tricks on Tuesday in Paris, ousting Frances Tiafoe 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-3 while striking 28 aces and fighting off both of Tiafoe’s break-point chances. He serve is arguably as hot as Freddie Freeman’s bat in the World Series.
A 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) victory over Christopher O’Connell in the opening round improved Khachanov’s record to 9-1 in his last 10 matches. This stretch features a title in Almaty followed by a runner-up effort in Vienna (lost to Draper). That is a lot of tennis in a short amount of time for the 21st-ranked Russian, and an absolute battle against O’Connell on Tuesday doesn’t help. Count on Mpetshi Perricard continuing his winning ways in front of the home crowd.
Pick: Mpetshi Perricard in 2
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