Indian Wells 2023: Frances Tiafoe vs Marcos Giron preview, head-to-head & prediction | BNP Paribas Open

Match Details

Fixture: (14) Frances Tiafoe vs Marcos Giron

Tournament: BNP Paribas Open

Round: Second round (Round of 64)

Venue: Indian Wells, California, USA

Category: ATP Masters 1000

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $8,800,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

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Frances Tiafoe vs Marcos Giron preview

Tiafoe has been in decent recent form.

Fourteenth seed Frances Tiafoe will open his Indian Wells campaign against compatriot Marcos Giron in an all-American clash after a first-round bye.

The 16th-ranked Tiafoe is 10-3 on the season. He's coming off a quarterfinal appearance at Acapulco last week, losing to top seed Taylor Fritz in straight sets. Before that, the American had also made the last eight at the ATP 250 Dallas Open, where he lost to compatriot J.J. Wolf in three sets, after having lost in the Australian Open third round earlier.

Meanwhile, World No. 73 Giron is now 8-6 on the season after seeing off wildcard Aleksandar Kovacevic in straight sets in the first round. He was coming off an opening-round loss at Acapulco after making the quarterfinals in Delray Beach (losing to Miomir Kecmanovic) and Dallas (losing to Taylor Fritz).

Giron also made it to another quarterfinal - Auckland - earlier this season, where he lost to eventual finalist Cameron Norrie in three sets. Following that loss, he stumbled in the Australian Open first round against two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, winning just three games.

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Frances Tiafoe vs Marcos Giron head-to-head

Tiafoe leads his H2H with Grion 2-1, with Tiafoe winning the pair's last meeting in the first round of the US Open last year. Giron's lone win over Tiafoe did come on hardcourts though -- at the 2021 Paris Masters.

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Frances Tiafoe vs Marcos Giron odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total games (over/under)
Frances Tiafoe
Marcos Giron

The odds will be updated when they release.

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Frances Tiafoe vs Marcos Giron prediction

Giron has made three quarterfinals this season.

Both Tiafoe and Giron are quintessential baseliners, but Tiafoe is clearly the more aggressive of the two players.

The higher-ranked American is an excellent mover, hits powerfully on either flank and has a big serve that can wreak havoc. Giron, by contrast, has more modest attributes -- a steady baseline game and a decent serve without being spectacular.

If that wasn't enough, Tiafoe is the one who is arriving at the tournament with superior momentum, coming off a quarterfinal run at Acapulco, while Giron slipped up in the first round.

Considering all these reasons, anything other than a Tiafoe win at Indian Wells would be a huge surprise.

Prediction: Tiafoe in straight sets