In the second round of the US Open hard court, Tommy Paul from the USA will face off against Roman Safiullin from Russia. We're betting on a victory for Paul with a game handicap of -4.5.
26-year-old Paul, currently ranked 14th in the world, secured his first tournament victory over Paul with a score of 6:2, 6:3, 4:6, 6:1. Prior to that, in Cincinnati, the tennis player made it to the third round, overcoming Kecmanovic with 7:5, 7:6 (7:2) and Humbert 6:1, 7:6 (7:4), before suffering a defeat from Alcaraz with a score of 6:7 (6:8), 7:6 (7:0), 3:6.
In mid-August, Tommy Paul made it to the semifinals, clinching victories over Schwartzman with a score of 6:3, 3:6, 6:4, Cerundolo 7:6 (7:2), 6:7 (2:7), 6:3, Hiron 6:3, 6:2 and Alcaraz 6:3, 4:6, 6:3. But then he lost to Sinner with a score of 4:6, 4:6. Paul also took part in the Los Cabos tournament, where he initially defeated Meligeni Rodrigues Alves with a score of 7:5, 7:6 (9:7), but then lost to De Minaur with a score of 4:6, 6:3, 3:6. In the Newport championship, he secured a victory over Quinzi but then lost to Isner.
At Wimbledon in early July, Paul defeated Mochizuki with a score of 7:5, 6:3, 6:1 and Raonic in a close match 6:4, 7:6 (7:4), 6:7 (4:7), 6:4 but subsequently lost to Lehec with a score of 2:6, 6:7 (2:7), 7:6 (7:5), 7:6 (11:9), 2:6. In the previous Eastbourne Tournament, Paul reached the final, defeating Baez with 6:1, 7:6 (9:7), Wolf 6:4, 4:6, 7:6 (7:2), and Barrere 6:4, 6:3, before losing in the final match to Cerundolo with a score of 4:6, 6:1, 4:6. In London, Paul successfully got through two qualifying rounds, overcoming Daniel and Harris, but lost to Cerundolo in the main draw.
In his last three tournaments, Paul didn’t advance beyond the first round, defeating Bonzi in Stuttgart, Stricker at the French Open, and Barrere in Lyon, but then lost against Struff, Harris, and Nakashima respectively. Also this season, Paul made it to the finals on the clay Challengers in Aix-en-Provence and the hard court tournament in Acapulco, while he reached the semifinals at the Australian Open.
26-year-old Roman Safiullin, currently ranked 60th in the world, secured his first tournament victory over Cecchinato with a score of 6:4, 6:2, 6:0. Prior to this, he faced a losing streak and lost three consecutive matches. In tournaments in Winston-Salem and Cincinnati, the tennis player lost the starting matches against Cerundolo 6:7 (5:7), 6:3, 3:6 and Harris with a score of 6:4, 3:6, 3:6. However, earlier at Wimbledon, Roman showcased excellent play and advanced to the quarterfinals. Throughout the tournament, he defeated Bautista-Agut 2:6, 7:6 (9:7), 6:7 (4:7), 6:4, 7:5, Moutet 7:5, 6:3, 7:6 (7:4), Pel 7:6 (7:1), 6:4, 6:0 and Shapovalov 3:6, 6:3, 6:1, 6:3 but subsequently lost to Sinner with a score of 4:6, 6:3, 2:6, 2:6.
At the Mallorca tournament in late June, Safiullin successfully got through the qualifications, defeating Moro Canas 7:5, 6:1 and McCabe 7:5, 4:6, 7:6 (7:5), in the main draw he beat Shelbayh 6:1, 6:4 before suffering defeat against Harris 6:7 (5:7), 3:6. Another tournament in Halle in June also brought Safiullin successful qualification, but he lost to Struff in the first round afterwards.
Safiullin demonstrated good form on clay court tournaments in Rome and Madrid, winning four matches, including two in qualifying matches, and reaching the third rounds. In Rome he beat Sousa, Kopriva, Hiron and Korda, but he lost to Popyrin. After poor performances in Miami, Monte Carlo, and Banja Luka in April, Safiullin got back on track at the Madrid tournament. He got through qualifying rounds defeating Sousa and Ofner, and in the main draw, he overcame Harris and Paul. Nevertheless, in the next match against Zapata Miralles, Roman suffered a defeat.
In early February, Safiullin emerged as the winner of the Challenger in Koblenz, defeating Blancaneaux, Escoffier, Vatutin, Collignon, and Pospisil, but he didn't claim more than one victory in other tournaments.
The athletes previously met on April 29 in the Madrid tournament on clay, with the match ending in Safiullin's favour with a score of 6:3, 7:6 (7:3).
Paul has long solidified his spot among the top players and consistently shows solid results, while Roman only made it into the top 100 this year and isn't yet ready to compete on equal footing with the American. After Wimbledon, Safiullin suffered three consecutive losses, while Paul almost defeated Alcaraz. My prediction is a confident victory for the American.
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