Olympics 2021: Tommy Paul vs Aslan Karatsev preview, head-to-head & prediction

Tommy Paul

Match details

Fixture: Tommy Paul vs Aslan Karatsev

Date: 24 July 2021

Tournament: Olympics 2021

Round: First Round (Round of 64)

Venue: Ariake Tennis Park, Tokyo, Japan

Category: Olympic Games

Surface: Outdoor hard

Match timing: Approx. 3 pm local time, 6 am GMT, 2 am ET, 11.30 am IST

Live telecast: USA - NBC & Peacock TV | UK - BBC TV | India - Sony Liv

Tommy Paul vs Aslan Karatsev preview

Talented American Tommy Paul and Russia's rising star Aslan Karatsev will lock horns in the opening round of the 2021 Olympics on Saturday.

Paul will be playing in his first tournament since Roland Garros, where he was handed a second-round defeat by Daniil Medvedev. The American suffered a minor injury during the match and has been on the recovery trail ever since.

Aslan Karatsev

Karatsev, meanwhile, is coming off an undewhelming grasscourt season in which he suffered early exits at both the Birmingham Classic and the Wimbledon Championships.

The Russian made a splendid start to the season by reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open. He backed that up by securing his first ATP title in Dubai and reaching the Belgrade final over the next couple of months.

Karatsev has already had an immensely successful season and he will look to cap it off with a deep run in Tokyo.

Check Out: Tokyo Olympics Tennis Schedule

Tommy Paul vs Aslan Karatsev head-to-head

This will be the first career meeting between Aslan Karatsev and Tommy Paul, so their current head-to-head stands at a 0-0 deadlock.

Tommy Paul vs Aslan Karatsev prediction

Paul has a strong baseline game that is well-suited to hardcourts.

Both Tommy Paul and Aslan Karatsev are aggressive baseliners who enjoy playing on hardcourts. Karatsev's form this season makes him the slight favorite heading into this opening-round contest.

The Russian likes to play attacking tennis, taking control of the rallies with his flat groundstrokes. He is also fairly comfortable moving forward and can finish points off at the net.

Paul is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the Russian from the back of the court, but he could be slightly rusty given this is his first match in more than a month.

Prediction: Aslan Karatsev to win in three sets

Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule