Paris Masters 2020: Tennys Sandgren vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Tennys Sandgren vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Date: 3 November 2020
Tournament: Paris Masters 2020
Round: Round of 64 (First round)
Venue: Paris, France
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: €3,901,015
Match timing: Approx. 1 pm local time, 5.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six / Sony L
Tennys Sandgren vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert preview
USA’s Tennys Sandgren will take on home favorite Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the opening round of the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters.
This is the second time that the two players are facing each other in as many weeks. Herbert had beaten Sandgren 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the Cologne 2 event in October.
While Pierre-Hugues Herbert is a top-ranked doubles player, he doesn’t boast of similar success in singles. At the Erste Bank Open in Vienna last week, the Frenchman went down to 453-ranked Vitaliy Sachko in the first round of qualifying. That was among the worst losses of his career, and it remains to be seen how well he bounces back from it.
Tennys Sandgren isn’t in the best of form either. The last time the American produced anything close to his best tennis was at the Western & Southern Open way back in August. The Tennessean had made the Round of 16 there, after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime and Lorenzo Sonego early on.
Since then, Sandgren has played seven tournaments and lost in the first round six times. The American did reach the second round at the French Open though, where he also scored a victory over the high-ranked Hubert Hurkacz.
Tennys Sandgren vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert head-to-head
Pierre-Hugues Herbert leads Tennys Sandgren 1-0 in the head-to-head. Their only previous encounter was at the Cologne 2 events a couple of weeks ago, which the Frenchman won in three sets.
Tennys Sandgren vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert prediction
Most would assume that the big-hitting Tennys Sandgren holds the edge in indoor conditions given the power he generates. However, the American has been over-hitting the ball quite a lot in recent times.
Sandgren has also been below par with his serve lately, which could put him under a lot of pressure against Pierre-Hugues Herbert who has a more consistent delivery.
Herbert is arguably the better returner too, and is also far superior at the net courtesy his exploits in the doubles arena. The Frenchman might have an easier time closing out points against the error-prone Sandgren.
Prediction: Pierre-Hugues Herbert to win in three sets.