Houston 2022: Taylor Fritz vs Alejandro Tabilo preview, head-to-head & prediction | U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
Match details
Fixture: (2) Taylor Fritz vs Alejandro Tabilo.
Date: 7 April 2022.
Tournament: U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 16).
Venue: Houston, Texas, USA.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Clay.
Prize money: $665,330.
Live telecast: USA - ESPN 3 | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Taylor Fritz vs Alejandro Tabilo preview
Taylor Fritz will begin his quest for his second title of the season against World No. 100 Alejandro Tabilo at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships 2022 on Thursday.
The 24-year-old American has had a memorable few months on the ATP tour. He finished as the runner-up in St. Petersburg in 2021 and made five semi-finals, the biggest of which was at Indian Wells.
Fritz has gone a step further this year, beating Rafael Nadal to lift the biggest trophy of his career at the BNP Paribas Open.
However, he suffered a hard-fought three-set loss to Miomir Kecmanovic in the last 16 in Miami. The World No. 13 will now be itching to get back to winning ways in Houston.
Houston, we're ready 🇺🇸
Here's your Top Seeds at @mensclaycourt 👇
#USClay https://t.co/opyZVLw6pj
Seeded second, Fritz will kickstart his claycourt campaign against Alejandro Tabilo, who's been making rapid strides over the past few months.
The 24-year-old made a dream run to the final in Cordoba from the qualifying stages in February before losing to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in three sets.
Tabilo backed it up with a couple of superb performances at home in Santiago. He first made the semi-finals at the ATP 250 event and then followed it up with a runner-up showing at the Challenger event.
avanzaron a la Segunda Ronda del ATP de Houston 
y Taylor Fritz 
.
¡TRIUNFO DOBLE! 💪💪💪
Cristian Garin y Alejandro Tabilo 🎾 avanzaron a la Segunda Ronda del ATP de Houston 🇺🇸, donde se medirán con Jordan Thompson 🇦🇺 y Taylor Fritz 🇺🇸, respectivamente 👊.
#VamosTeamChile 🇨🇱 https://t.co/l9H8iMNKvw
On Tuesday, the Chilean played brilliant tennis to show the door to home favorite Christian Harrison 6-1, 6-4 in the first round. Tabilo will now attempt to give a good account of himself when he faces the second seed on Thursday.
Taylor Fritz vs Alejandro Tabilo head-to-head
Fritz and Tabilo have never squared off on the tour before, so their head-to-head is currently tied at 0-0.
Taylor Fritz vs Alejandro Tabilo prediction
This match will feature two contrasting styles of play. While Fritz relies on his serve and powerful forehands to do most of the damage, Tabilo is a grinder who possesses great movement and footwork.
The Chilean has had some fantastic results on the surface this year, which should give him plenty of confidence ahead of his face-off against the Indian Wells champion. Tabilo will look to prolong the rallies in an attempt to eke out errors off the American's racquet.
He can also get some free points off his serve, as was evident against Harrison in the first round, where he produced seven aces.
Tabilo definitely has the game to put Fritz in a spot of bother. However, the American has shown improved defense this year and currently has a lot of self-belief, which was instrumental in him winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title.
His experience of playing at the highest level of the sport will also come in handy against Tabilo, who has mostly plied his trade in the qualifying stages of ATP tournaments and Challenger events so far.
While the Chilean could give Fritz a scare, the American should be able to secure a win in this match.
Prediction: Taylor Fritz to win in three sets.