Fabio Fognini - Tommy Paul predictions and free betting tips [30/05/2024]

Fabio Fognini is always intriguing; he can deliver a superb tournament, but often the Italian showman of global tennis shows average results. In the second round of Roland-Garros, he is set to face Tommy Paul, and it seems that the American is a bit overrated, although he is fairly considered the favourite against Fognini.

Fabio Fognini

Fognini's clay-court technique is solid, and over years of competition in the ATP Tour, he has learned to perform decently on other surfaces. For instance, in 2018, the Italian won the tournament in Los Cabos on hard court.

Last year, Fabio had a decent season, alternating between various 'main' tournaments and Challengers, naturally on clay, or the 'indoor' versions of hard courts. On standard hard courts, Fognini didn’t win a single match in the previous season. He claimed a title at the Challenger in Valencia, where he faced strong opponents, and in the decisive battle for the trophy, Fognini defeated Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets, with Fabio winning two of them in tie-breaks, showcasing excellent, smart tennis throughout the distance for the first time.

This season, Fognini looks worse, performing well only at the ATP 250 in Morocco, where he barely passed the qualification, then defeated two opponents in the main draw, and lost in the quarterfinals to Pavel Kotov.

In his first match at Roland-Garros, the Italian tennis player played very well, defeating Botic Van de Zandschulp. Although Fognini's performance in the third set can be criticised, the advantage still lay with Fabio. Even if the Dutch tennis player had won the set, it would have been unlikely to turn the match around.

In the second round of Roland-Garros, Fognini will face Tommy Paul, whose tennis is sometimes too complex for many top opponents. However, the American does not look strong on clay, so Fabio's classic style can yield a good result here. It's crucial that Fognini's 'winners' hit the mark, and his gameplay in rallies remains smart.

Tommy Paul

Last season, Tommy elevated to the level of top tennis players, performing very well in 'main' tournaments, even delivering strong performances in 'majors'. For instance, reaching the semi-finals in Melbourne is worth mentioning.

In Toronto, he also performed well but failed to defeat Jannik Sinner in the semi-final. However, Paul lost three decisive battles for titles: on hard court in Acapulco, on clay in Aix-en-Provence, and on grass in Eastbourne. These results, of course, are disappointing for Tommy, though it's noticeable that the American has improved in efficiency.

This year, Paul is performing no worse, perhaps even improving his technique, showing excellent play against weaker opponents. Tommy won an 'indoor' tournament in Dallas and almost claimed the trophy in Delray Beach but lost the decisive match to Taylor Fritz. The Masters in Indian Wells and Rome were also commendable, where Paul reached the semi-finals, though he couldn't advance to the title battles, losing to Daniil Medvedev in the US and Nicolas Jarry on the clay 'thousand' tournament, where it seemed the American would look better in the title-decider.

The first round at Roland-Garros was an easy passage for Tommy Paul. The American tennis player confidently defeated Pedro Cachin, though the South American clay-court specialist could have played better in the second set but lacked something. Paul, on the other hand, played as needed and improved his advantage in the third set.

In the match against Fabio Fognini, strategic rallies will be required for Tommy Paul’s complex technical shots from the baseline to be effective. Paul will frequently approach the net, which his opponent will surely aim to exploit.

Head-to-head

In Montreal 2019, Fabio Fognini defeated Tommy Paul convincingly.

Prediction for the match: Fabio Fognini vs Tommy Paul

I'm backing +7 games in favour of clay-court specialist Fabio. The American should play poorly in several sets, and Fabio's abilities should be enough for a good match.