Shanghai Masters 2024: Tommy Paul vs Tomas Machac preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (11) Tommy Paul vs (30) Tomas Machac
Date: October 9, 2024
Tournament: Shanghai Masters 2024
Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)
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 Tomas Machac preview
Eleventh seed Tommy Paul will take on Tomas Machac in the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters 2024.
Paul beat former top 10 player Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3 to set up a third-round showdown against 19th seed Alejandro Tabilo. Neither player lost ground on serve in the first set, leading to a tie-break. The American got outplayed in it to fall behind a set.
Tabilo raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set and held five match points on his own serve in the eighth game. However, Paul saved them all and went on a five-game run to go 6-5 up. He let go of three set points on his opponent's serve in the 12th game and then fumbled another three set points in the tie-break before finally closing out the set.
Tabilo's resistance crumbled in the third set. Paul took control of the reins right off the bat and broke the Chilean's serve twice to register a 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-2 comeback win.
Machac rallied from a set down to defeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 and move into the third round, where Aleksandar Vukic awaited him. While he had to dig deep in the previous round, he wasn't tested at all in this round and broke his opponent's serve thrice en route to a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Tommy Paul vs Tomas Machac head-to-head
Machac leads Paul 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at last month's Japan Open in three sets.
Tommy Paul vs Tomas Machac odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Tommy Paul vs Tomas Machac prediction
Paul staged an incredible escape act to sneak past Tabilo in the previous round. He won 73 percent of points on first serve and struck 39 winners compared to 36 unforced errors. After a tough opener in Shanghai, Machac had it easy against Vukic in the third round, and he didn't lose his serve even once.
Paul and Machac crossed paths a few days ago in Tokyo. The American was the better player for most of the contest until the Czech turned the tables on him with a late charge to snatch the win from him.
Paul will now be keen to even their rivalry. Despite his loss to Machac, he has still outperformed him throughout the season. He has more wins under his belt, along with better serve and return stats. His comeback win over Tabilo would've given him a massive confidence boost. As such, the American will be expected to continue his journey in Shanghai.
Pick: Tommy Paul to win in three sets.