Australian Open 2024: Taylor Fritz vs Hugo Gaston preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (12) Taylor Fritz vs (LL) Hugo Gaston
Date: January 17, 2024
Tournament: Australian Open 2024
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard (Outdoor)
Prize Money: A$86,500,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Sports & Sony Liv | Canada - TSN & RDS
Taylor Fritz vs Hugo Gaston preview
Twelfth seed Taylor Fritz will take on lucky loser Hugo Gaston in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open on Wednesday.
Fritz's campaign in Melbourne kicked off against Facundo Diaz Acosta. The American had a couple of break points in the sixth game of the first set to surge ahead. Instead, he let go of those chances, got broken himself in the next game, and eventually, lost the set.
Fritz stepped up his game to take the next set, but Diaz Acosta put himself in the driver's seat once more as he claimed the third set as well. The fourth set had plenty of momentum shifts as there were six service breaks in it.
It was Fritz who gained the upper hand in it to level the proceedings. The pair traded service breaks in the middle of the fifth set but he remained steady otherwise. With Diaz Acosta serving to stay in the match at 5-4, the American broke his opponent's serve one last time to score a 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback win.
Gaston lost to Lloyd Harris in the final round of the qualifiers but he made it to the main draw as a lucky loser in the end. He faced Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round.
Gaston cruised through the first couple of sets without being challenged too much to take a two-set lead. Carballes Baena put up a fight and managed to capture the third set to keep himself in contention.
Carballes Baena looked to be in charge of the fourth set too as he jumped to a 3-1 lead. But Gaston nipped his comeback in the bud as he swept five of the next six games to secure a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 victory.
Taylor Fritz vs Hugo Gaston head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Taylor Fritz vs Hugo Gaston odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Taylor Fritz vs Hugo Gaston prediction
Gaston made the most of his second shot with his win over Carballes Baena. It marked his maiden win at the Australian Open, having never made it past the opening hurdle before. He blasted 57 winners in all and his unforced error count was half of that.
Fritz looked to be on course for another early exit this year too. He lost to Alexei Popyrin in the second round here last year but he didn't let history repeat itself. The American buckled down and fought back to oust Diaz Acosta.
But Fritz has a lot of work to do going forward. Gaston is a tricky opponent to handle. The Frenchman makes the most of his lefty serve and mixes up his shots quite well to keep his opponents on their toes.
However, Gaston's most favorable results have been on clay. So despite Fritz's struggles in the first round, he'll still be backed to make it through this encounter.
Pick: Taylor Fritz to win in four sets.