Citi Open 2022: Holger Rune vs Benoit Paire preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (9) Holger Rune vs Benoit Paire.
Tournament: Citi Open 2022.
Date: August 3, 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 32).
Venue: Washington D.C., United States.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $1,953,285.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Holger Rune vs Benoit Paire preview
After a first-round bye, ninth seed Holger Rune will take on World No. 112 Benoit Paire in the second round of the 2022 Citi Open on Wednesday.
Rune has made considerable progress this year and recorded a fantastic rise up the rankings as well. He won his maiden ATP title at the BMW Open and then defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open. However, the teenager hasn't won a match since then.
In fact, Rune's managed to win just a solitary set across his three losses during the grass swing. He lost to Pablo Carreno Busta, Ryan Peniston and Marcos Giron at the Halle Open, Eastbourne International and Wimbledon respectively.
Following his exit from the All England Club, the Dane returned to compete on clay, but his results didn't improve. Rune lost to Marc-Andrea Huesler in the first round of the Swedish Open and followed it up with another opening-round exit at the Hamburg European Open.
The teenager's woes continued at the Croatia Open as he suffered yet another first-round loss. He currently finds himself in the middle of a seven-match losing streak and will be eager to return to winning ways in this match.
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Benoit Paire has struggled mightily this year. Prior to the Citi Open, his record for the year stood at 3-19.
He has won consecutive matches in just one tournament this year, the Australian Open. After his third-round exit from Melbourne in January, the Frenchman didn't win a match until May.
Paire defeated Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round of the Geneva Open for his third victory of the season before losing to Casper Ruud in his next game. He then lost in the first round of his next five tournaments.
At the Citi Open, he was up against Peter Gowjoczyk in the first round. The German started the match by going 2-0 up, but Paire immediately broke back to level the score.
The two held serve over the next few games, but the Frenchman got the decisive break in the 11th game of the set to lead 6-5. He then easily served out the set to take the lead.
The two were evenly matched for the first six games of the second set. Paire then snagged a break in the seventh game in the midst of a three-game run to lead 5-3. After a hold of serve from Gojowczyk, the World No. 112 held his serve to win the match 7-5, 6-4 and record his fourth victory of the year.
Holger Rune vs Benoit Paire head-to-head
Rune leads Paire 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2021 Chile Open in straight sets.
Holger Rune vs Benoit Paire odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Holger Rune vs Benoit Paire prediction
This is an excellent opportunity for both players to pick up a much-needed win.
Rune is up against a player who has won just four matches this year. Similarly, Paire will fancy his chances of winning as his opponent arrives on a seven-match losing streak.
Paire served quite well during his first-round win over Gojowczyk. He hit 11 aces and won a decent number of points on the back of his first serve. The Frenchman looked quite engaged and his backhand worked quite well.
However, he'll need to step up his return game going forward, as he won just 38% of those points in the previous round.
Rune will need to be on guard against his opponent's trick shots. He covers the court quite well and has the tools to emerge victorious in this contest. Given Paire's record this year, Rune might just be able to end his losing skid if he stays consistent throughout the match.
Pick: Holger Rune to win in three sets.