Aslan Karatsev vs Frances Tiafoe Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Japan Open

Prediction published on 16/10/2023, 06:51  by Nella Wagah in Tennis Predictions

Sixth seed Frances Tiafoe and unseeded Aslan Karatsev will square off on Tuesday in the Japan Open first round. This will be the third meeting between Karatsev and Tiafoe in 2023. Karatsev will be out in search of his first win of this new series. If he manages to achieve this, it will mark a winning start to his debut in Tokyo. The Russian has been in relatively good form in recent weeks and has won three of his last five matches. Those three wins came in his run to the semifinals in Zhuhai and also helped him tie his hard-court record for the season. Karatsev has struggled on hard courts in 2023 and currently has compiled a 9-9 record on the surface. The 30-year-old was defeated in the first round in Shanghai in his last match. He has won 28 of 48 matches this season and is currently down four places to 54th in the live ranking.

Frances Tiafoe finished as runner-up here last season. As he has already won two Singles titles this year, he will be confident of another title challenge. The American has won the first two meetings with Karatsev which have all been played this season. He won on clay at the French Open and then on hard courts in Washington two months back. The American has had a successful year. Aside from his accolades, he was also able to make the ATP top 10 for the first time in his career. He is however currently ranked 14th in the world and could likely miss out on the year-end ATP finals. Tiafoe has compiled a 38-18 record and has won 21 of 30 fixtures on hard courts. The 25-year-old was also last on the court in Shanghai where he also lost his tournament opener. The winner of this tie will next play either Hubert Hurkacz or Zhang Zhizhen.