Shanghai Masters 2024: Tommy Paul vs Fabio Fognini preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (11) Tommy Paul vs Fabio Fognini
Date: October 4, 2024
Tournament: Shanghai Masters 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, Shanghai, China
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $8,995,555
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Tommy Paul vs Fabio Fognini preview
11th seed Tommy Paul will square off against Fabio Fognini in the second round of the Shanghai Masters 2024.
Paul has notched up a 39-16 record for the season so far. A quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon was his best finish at the Majors, followed by a fourth-round appearance at the US Open. He also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics and won the bronze medal in men's doubles.
Paul captured the biggest title of his career at the Queen's Club Championships, an ATP 500 event. He also won the Dallas Open and was a finalist at the Delray Beach Open. Semifinal appearances at the Indian Wells Masters and the Italian Open rank among his other best results.
The American kicked off his Asian swing at the Japan Open and lost to Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals. He received a first-round bye at the Shanghai Masters.
Fognini was up against his younger compatriot Luciano Darderi in the first round here. The veteran pulled ahead thanks to an early break of serve in the opening set and maintained the lead to take the set.
Fognini led by a break in the second set as well, only for Darderi to level the score, and then clinch the set in the tie-break. Both players had break point chances in the third set, though it was the 37-year-old who eventually gained the edge. He broke his younger rival's serve in the final game of the match to secure a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory.
Tommy Paul vs Fabio Fognini head-to-head
The two have evenly split their previous two meetings to tie the head-to-head at 1-1. Paul won their most recent match at this year's French Open in straight sets.
Tommy Paul vs Fabio Fognini odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Tommy Paul vs Fabio Fognini prediction
Fognini's win over Darderi was his 12th of the season. He won 84 percent of his first serve points and struck 31 winners. However, he went overboard quite often and ended the match with 46 unforced errors.
Paul made light work of Fognini when they met at the claycourt Major a few months ago and lost only three games during their second-round duel. The Italian did win their other encounter on hardcourts, though that was over five years ago when his younger rival was a fresh upstart on the tour.
Fognini hasn't advanced beyond the second round of a Masters tournament this year. Paul has thrice as many wins this season compared to the Italian, and has a 20-4 record against players ranked outside the top 50. The American will be expected to make a winning start to his campaign.
Pick: Tommy Paul to win in straight sets.