2019 Australian Open quarterfinalist and World No. 65 Frances Tiafoe will take on the 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, in the first round of the 2021 Barcelona Open on Monday, April 19. Get the live streaming options of this Frances Tiafoe v Carlos Alcaraz match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Frances Tiafoe v Carlos Alcaraz Head to Head
Tiafoe and Alcaraz have never met before on the ATP tour and their upcoming clash in Barcelona would be their first encounter on the men’s circuit.
It could turn out to be an intriguing encounter as Tiafoe with his big serves will look to dominate the proceedings, while the teenaged Spaniard, who has been brought up on the clay courts will look to neutralize those huge serves with his exceptional retrieving skills on the court.
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Tiafoe Hopes to Begin his Clay Campaign With a Win
Tiafoe, who is known for his booming serves, is arriving in Barcelona on the back of a round of 16 showing at the Miami Masters, where he was defeated by World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.
However, before his loss to the ever rising Russian, Tiafoe displayed that he is a born fighter as he won three consecutive matches in three sets, managing to turn the tide in his favour, when the going was extremely tough for him.
Despite the fact that the American has played most of his tennis on the hard courts, he is equally comfortable on the red dirt. Additionally, Tiafoe can generate brute force from both wings, and can hit winners at will, even on clay.
There’s doubt that when Tiafoe is on song, it is extremely tough to stop him. The 23-year-old Florida resident shot to prominence, when he took the great Roger Federer to five sets in the first round of the US Open in 2017.
The following year, Tiafoe earned a massive win over former Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic of Canada before reaching his maiden Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open in 2019.
Tiafoe employs a variety of ground-strokes to keep his rivals guessing on the court. He has a knack of changing the pace and direction of the tennis ball almost too frequently and that keeps his challengers always on their toes. Certainly, he would need his full repertoire of shots, if he is to defeat Alcaraz on Monday.
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Junior Prodigy Alcaraz Shows his Potential in Marbella
Tiafoe’s adversary in his Barcelona opener is the teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz from Spain.
The 17-year-old is arriving in Catalonia after a sensational run at the Andalucia Open in Marbella, where he made it through to the semifinals. Alcaraz outclassed the likes of Feliciano Lopez and Casper Ruud during his excellent run there.
But, it was his 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Ruud that forced the pundits to laud his skills on the clay courts. Indeed, Alcaraz loves the red dirt, and why not, his game is tailor-made to succeed on the surface.
After all, he can slide on clay, has the ability to retrieve balls from the baseline and can engage his rivals in long rallies and most importantly, he can also finish those rallies with a flurry of winners.
Even though comparing Alcaraz with Rafael Nadal won’t be right, the teenager does have some commonality with his great countryman. Like Nadal, Alcaraz’s game is also built around massive power and an incredible amount of spin. Moreover, Alcaraz’s missile-like forehand is perhaps his biggest weapon on clay, and he can really control the rallies, if he finds his groove early on in the match.
Tiafoe v Alcaraz Prediction and Tip
Even though Tiafoe is ranked more than 50 places above Alcaraz in the ATP rankings, it is the Spaniard, who is the favourite to win this contest.
Tiafoe, who is surely a fine player on the hard courts, will find it extremely tough to deal with the massive power and spin, which Alcaraz will generate from both sides. Besides that the pace and the trajectory of Alcaraz’s ground-strokes will rob the American of time, whenever the two will engage in rallies from the baseline.
Tip: Alcaraz to win in three sets: 3/1 (bet365)
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The 2021 Barcelona Open will be played from April 19 to 25. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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