James Duckworth vs Frances Tiafoe Prediction & Picks - ATP Houston

Prediction published on 4/3/24, 2:03 PM  by Drew Williamson | Modified on 4/3/24 at 4:04 PM in Tennis Picks

Finding himself as the number 3 seed this week in Houston, Frances Tiafoe needs something to boost his confidence. He’s also found himself in a slump since the start of the 2024 season, with premature eliminations in Hong Kong, the Australian Open, Dallas, Acapulco, Indian Wells and most recently Miami. Facing this reality, the 21st-ranked player in the world needs to find solutions in his game to avoid a major drop in the rankings. Will this week in Texas enable him to get back to where he was, just a few months ago? In any event, there’s no time to lose in his quest for precious points. Despite being last year's winner in Houston, the American could lose a lot more if he bows out of this competition early. 

James Duckworth will be his adversary in their first meeting since 2016, to take place tomorrow evening. The Australian is frankly better than his current ranking suggests (presently 105th in the ATP rankings), and although he may have his ups and downs, but he’s still full of potential, and his defeat by Frances Tiafoe is far from guaranteed–quite to the contrary, this should be quite a battle royale. James has already shown off his bona-fides this year as a semi-finalist at the Cleveland Challenger, then also as a quarter-finalist in Dallas. Despite not being present at Indian Wells and Miami, we have already seen that he is indeed capable of playing at a very high level. James returned to the courts yesterday for his first round match, handily defeating the Dutchman Gijs Brouwer in 2 sets. It was a smooth start for James Duckworth, and he’ll be looking to continue heading into this next match against the defending champion!