Paris Masters 2022: Carlos Alcaraz vs Holger Rune preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Carlos Alcaraz vs Holger Rune.
Date: November 4, 2022.
Tournament: Paris Masters 2022.
Round: Quarterfinals.
Venue: Paris, France.
Category: ATP Masters 1000.
Surface: Indoor hardcourt.
Prize money: €5,415,410.
Match timing: Approx. 4 pm local time, 3 pm GMT, 11 am ET and 8:30 pm IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN & Sportsnet | UK - Amazon Prime.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Holger Rune preview
Reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz will take on World No. 18 Holger Rune in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Paris Masters on Friday.
Alcaraz defeated Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets to advance to the third round, where Grigor Dimitrov waited for him. The teenager didn't miss a beat in the first set, dropping just one game en route to clinching it.
Alcaraz continued to steamroll his opponent in the second set as well, jumping to a 3-0 lead. Dimitrov halted the Spaniard's momentum as he went on a three-game run to level the score. The Bulgarian's newfound resistance crumbled pretty quickly as the World No. 1 bagged the next three games in a row to win the match 6-1, 6-3.
Alcaraz has now reached his 12th quarterfinal of the year with a 9-2 record at this stage so far. Out of his two losses, one took place at the French Open, while the other was at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Holger Rune, meanwhile, kicked off his campaign in Paris with a tough three-set win over Stan Wawrinka in the first round. He then knocked out 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz to reach the third round, where he was up against Andrey Rublev.
Rune snagged an early break to go 3-1 up in the opening set. He kept his nose in front until the end and served for it at 5-4. The teenager needed to save a couple of break points before closing out the set to put himself in the lead.
Both players remained steady on serve for the better part of the second set. It wasn't until the latter stages that things began to heat up. Rublev held a couple of set points on his opponent's serve at 5-4, but failed to seal the deal. This proved to be costly for the Russian as Rune claimed the next couple of games to win the match 6-4, 7-5.
Rune has now made it to the quarterfinals of a tournament for the eighth time this season and has lost at this stage just twice before.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Holger Rune head-to-head
Alcaraz leads Rune 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals in three sets.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Holger Rune odds
(Odds courtesy of Oddschecker)
Carlos Alcaraz vs Holger Rune prediction
Alcaraz has proved to be a quick learner, having improved tremendously with every match on indoor courts. He was brilliant in the first set against Dimitrov in the previous round, losing just two points on serve. The teenager also pounced on his opponent's serve with his returns.
Rune, on the other hand, has been one of the most in-form players over the past few weeks, so his win over Rublev shouldn't really qualify as an upset. The teenager's brand of first-strike tennis rewarded him quite well as he ended the match with 30 winners and eight unforced errors.
Rune is more than capable of going toe-to-toe against Alcaraz when it comes to baseline duels. The World No. 1 has been a little vulnerable recently, so the young Dane will be salivating at the thought of scoring another high-profile scalp.
This has the potential to be a closely contested battle. That said, the Spaniard has slightly more variety in his game and his defensive skills also give him an edge.
Pick: Carlos Alcaraz to win in three sets.