Tommy Paul vs Roman Safiullin preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick | US Open 2023

Match Details

Fixture: (14) Tommy Paul vs. Roman Safiullin

Tournament: US Open 2023

Date: August 30, 2023

Round: Second Round (Round of 64)

Venue: New York, USA

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Hardcourt

Prize money: $65,000,000

Live telecast:- USA: ESPN | UK: Sky Sports | Australia: Nine Network | Canada: TSN | India & South Asia: Sony Sports Network

Tommy Paul vs Roman Safiullin preview

Tommy Paul reached the semifinals of this year's Australian Open

14th seed Tommy Paul will face Russia's Roman Safiullin for a place in the third round of the 2023 US Open.

Tommy Paul is having a career-best season in 2023. The highlights of his season include reaching the last four in Melbourne and Montreal, only to lose to eventual champions Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, respectively. The American will now be looking to match his best result at the US Open till date — which was a third-round finish in 2022.

The 26-year-old gave a good account of himself during his first-round match against Italian qualifier Stefano Travaglia. Paul hit 17 aces past his opponent to win the match 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

His opponent Safiullin, meanwhile, was ranked on the fringes of the men's top 100 for the majority of 2023. The Russian, however, enjoyed good results during this year's grasscourt season, reaching the Round of 16 at the ATP 250 tournament in Mallorca before a surprise quarterfinal run at Wimbledon.

Although he failed to win a match in the lead-up to this year's US Open, he had very little trouble dispatching Italy's Marco Cecchinato, advancing to the second round for the loss of just six games.

Tommy Paul vs Roman Safiullin head-to-head

Safiullin leads Paul by the margin of 1-0 in their head-to-head meetings on the ATP Tour. The two faced in the second round of this year's Madrid Masters, where the then-World No. 112 beat his higher-ranked opponent in straight sets.

Tommy Paul vs Roman Safiullin odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games (over/under)
Tommy Paul
Roman Safiullin

(The odds will be updated when they release).

Tommy Paul vs Roman Safiullin prediction

Roman Safiullin hits a forehand

Paul has impressed fans this year with his entertaining game. The American is capable of hitting both flat and topspin shots from his famed forehand and also possesses a solid backhand. He also has great footspeed and never backs down from tracking down balls across the court.

His only weaknesses are poor shot selection at times and his knack for hitting uncharacteristic errors. It should be noted, however, that he generally makes up for errors with a high amount of groundstroke winners.

Safiullin, on his part, doesn't possess Paul's aggressive intent. The Russian is still a clean striker of the ball, though, and can move his opponents around by imparting good depth and width on his groundstrokes. His best shot remains his flat double-handed backhand, which he likes to direct up the line.

The key for both players will be to open up the court with well-executed groundstrokes. Having said that, Paul has a knack of hitting short balls at times, which can end up putting him in a disadvantageous position in longer exchanges from the baseline.

Apart from the technical aspect, the American will also likely be under immense pressure to do well at his home Slam. In the past, the 26-year-old has checked out of matches when the going got tough. In that context, the formidable Safiullin just might have enough of a chance to potentially spring up an upset over the World No. 14.

Pick: Roman Safiullin to win in five sets