Paris Masters 2020: Stan Wawrinka vs Tommy Paul preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Stan Wawrinka vs Tommy Paul
Date: 4 November 2020
Tournament: Rolex Paris Masters 2020
Round: Second round (Round of 32)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: €3,901,015
Match timing: Approx. 8 pm local time, 12.30 am IST
Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six / Sony Liv
Stan Wawrinka vs Tommy Paul preview
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka has made his way into the second round of the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters, where he will face Tommy Paul.
Wawrinka produced some vintage attacking tennis in the first round to knock out the in-form Dan Evans. The 35-year-old fired a whopping 35 winners and held firm on his serve to outmuscle the Brit in straight sets, finishing with a scoreline of 6-3, 7-6(3).
Wawrinka’s famed forehand did a lot of damage against Evans, but his ability to negotiate Evans’ dexterous sliced backhand would have probably pleased him even more. The Swiss also relied heavily on his first serve as he barely allowed the Brit any opportunity to make a comeback.
The Paris Masters is quite possibly the last tournament of the year for the former World No. 3, and he will be hoping to end it in the best way possible.
USA's Tommy Paul meanwhile came back from a set down to knock out home favorite Gilles Simon in the first round. This is Paul’s first appearance in the main draw at Paris-Bercy, and he looks motivated to make a deep run.
Much like Wawrinka, Tommy Paul has been largely inconsistent since the resumption of the tour, with his best result coming at Astana last week. The World No. 55 made the quarterfinals in the Kazakh city before narrowly losing to John Millman despite holding match points.
Stan Wawrinka vs Tommy Paul head-to-head
Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Paul have never faced each other on tour before, and so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Stan Wawrinka vs Tommy Paul prediction
This promises to be an exciting affair for the fans given the attacking instincts of the two players. Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Paul both like to go big on their groundstrokes, and are expected to dish out several spectacular winners.
That said, they both also have a tendency to leak unforced errors when they are slightly off their radar. And an experienced player like Wawrinka will likely be able to deal with any slip-ups better than his 23-year-old opponent.
The key for Tommy Paul will be to move well - which he usually does - and to bring in a lot of variety to disrupt Wawrinka's rhythm. But the Swiss still possesses the ability to outhit any player over three sets, and can be expected to do the same against Paul.
Prediction: Stan Wawrinka to win in three sets.