Atlanta Open 2024: Frances Tiafoe vs Aslan Karatsev preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Frances Tiafoe vs Aslan Karatsev
Date: July 24, 2024
Tournament: Atlanta Open 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Atlantic Station, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Category: ATP 250T
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $756,020
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Frances Tiafoe vs Aslan Karatsev preview
After a first-round bye, third seed Frances Tiafoe will take on Aslan Karatsev in the second round of the Atlanta Open 2024.
This has been a rather average season for Tiafoe until now. He started slow and didn't win consecutive matches until February when he made the semifinals of the Delray Beach Open. He didn't register back-to-back victories until April after that when he reached the final in Houston as a part of his title defense.
Tiafoe won two more matches on clay after finishing as the runner-up in Houston. He showed some promise during the grass swing and made the quarterfinals in Stuttgart, where he was the defending champion. An injury cut short his campaign at Queen's Club in the first round itself.
The American rallied from two sets down to beat Matteo Arnaldi in his Wimbledon opener. He knocked out Borna Coric to set up a third-round showdown with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Tiafoe had the Spaniard on the ropes and led by two sets to one but lost the match in five sets.
Karatsev, meanwhile, began his Atlanta Open campaign against qualifier Billy Harris. The Russian proved to be too good for his opponent and broke his serve twice in each set to score an easy 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Frances Tiafoe vs Aslan Karatsev head-to-head
Tiafoe leads Karatsev 2-1 in the head-to-head. The latter won their most recent encounter at the 2023 Japan Open in straight sets.
Frances Tiafoe vs Aslan Karatsev odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Frances Tiafoe vs Aslan Karatsev prediction
Karatsev snapped his five-match losing skid to get the better of Harris in the first round here. He won 82 percent of his first serve points, didn't face a single break point, and struck 20 winners during the match. It also marked his second main draw win this season.
Tiafoe hasn't been at his best this year but has easily outperformed Karatsev. He lost to the Russian the last time they crossed paths in Tokyo but won both of their encounters before that.
Even though the American came up short against Alcaraz at Wimbledon, he will be feeling confident after going toe-to-toe with a top player until the end. While Tiafoe has had some puzzling losses this season, ideally he shouldn't stumble against a slumping Karatsev. Anything other than a routine win for the home favorite would be quite the shocker.
Pick: Frances Tiafoe to win in straight sets.