Almaty Open 2024: Frances Tiafoe vs Dan Evans preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Frances Tiafoe vs Dan Evans
Date: 17 October, 2024
Tournament: Almaty Open 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Almaty Arena, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $1,036,700
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky UK | Canada - TSN
Frances Tiafoe vs Dan Evans preview
Top seed Frances Tiafoe is set to begin his 2024 Almaty Open campaign with a high-profile first-round clash against Dan Evans on Thursday, October 17.
Tiafoe enters the tournament with a 31-23 win-loss record for the season. While he is yet to claim a title this year, he reached the finals at the Cincinnati Masters and in Houston. His standout performance came at the US Open, where he was defeated by fellow American Taylor Fritz in the semifinals.
In his last appearance at the Shanghai Masters, Tiafoe defeated local player Yi Zhou in the first round but fell to Roman Safiullin in a tough three-set battle in the subsequent round after winning the opening set.
Evans has also had a difficult season, reflected by his 7-21 win-loss record. At the Shanghai Masters, he lost to Thiago Seyboth Wild in the first round after coming through the qualifiers.
He has made a stronger start in Almaty, advancing through the qualifiers with wins over Amir Omarkhanov and Yunchaokete Bu before defeating Taro Daniel 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the first round of the main draw.
Frances Tiafoe vs Dan Evans head-to-head
Frances Tiafoe leads Dan Evans 5-3 in their head-to-head match-ups. He prevailed in their last encounter in Vienna last year after Evans was unfortunately forced to retire leading 4-1.
Frances Tiafoe vs Dan Evans odds
(Odds sourced from BetMGM)
Frances Tiafoe vs Dan Evans prediction
Frances Tiafoe enters the Almaty Open looking to rebound from a disappointing loss in Shanghai. He has shown strong form on hardcourts in the latter half of the season and will be aiming for a deep run this week.
Dan Evans, on the other hand, has struggled with consistency throughout the year and has been a shadow of his former self. Confidence issues have plagued his game and he has not managed to string together more than three consecutive wins this season. His best result came with a third-round appearance at the US Open.
Tiafoe is the clear favorite in this match given his superior recent form and hardcourt success. Evans has yet to defeat a top 20 player this year and, after playing three games in the last four days, will likely face another uphill task. The fast surface in Almaty is expected to favor Tiafoe’s fluid baseline game, making him the player to beat.
Pick: Tiafoe to win in straight sets.