Canadian Open 2024: Tommy Paul vs Luciano Darderi preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (10) Tommy Paul vs Luciano Darderi
Date: August 7, 2024
Tournament: National Bank Open 2024
Round: First Round (Round of 64)
Venue: IGA Stadium, Montreal, Canada
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $6,795,555
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Tommy Paul vs Luciano Darderi preview
Tenth seed Tommy Paul will take on Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Canadian Open 2024.
Paul enjoyed considerable success on hardcourts at the start of the season. He reached the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters, won the Dallas Open, and was the runner-up at the Delray Beach Open.
The American performed quite well during the clay swing as well. He made the semifinals of the Italian Open and advanced to the third round of the French Open. He then won the biggest title of his career on grass at the Cinch Championships.
Paul's winning streak came to an end in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. He participated in the Paris Olympics as well and reached the quarterfinals in singles, where he was beaten by Alcaraz once again. However, he captured the bronze medal in men's doubles with Taylor Fritz.
Darderi made his breakthrough at the Cordoba Open at the start of the season, where he captured his maiden ATP title with a win over Facundo Bagnis in the final. He also reached the semifinals in Houston and Lyon.
The Italian made winning debuts at the Majors, and made the second round of the French Open and Wimbledon. He started the season ranked outside the top 100 and has since made his way into the top 40, peaking at No. 32 so far.
Tommy Paul vs Luciano Darderi head-to-head
Paul leads Darderi 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter at last week's Paris Olympics in straight sets.
Tommy Paul vs Luciano Darderi odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Tommy Paul vs Luciano Darderi prediction
While this has been a breakout season for Darderi, all of his success has been exclusively on clay. He has contested only one match on hardcourts this year, which he lost to Denis Shapovalov in the first round of the Miami Open.
Paul, on the other hand, has a respectable 14-6 record on the surface. He also reached the semifinals of the Canadian Open last year. He beat Darderi a few days ago in the first round of the Paris Olympics as well.
Since the Italian was unable to get the better of Paul on his favored surface, it will be a difficult task for him to do so on hardcourts. Darderi has yet to prove himself on the surface, and until he does so, he will always be a massive underdog in every match. The American is in good form and should be able to make a winning start to his campaign here.
Pick: Tommy Paul to win in straight sets.