Fritz vs Draper Prediction - 2024 Paris Masters

By Shane Lambert

The 2024 Paris Masters continued on Tuesday from France. Some high seeds were in action in the draw, two of which were eliminated. Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev, the No. 7 and No. 6 seeds respectively, went out of the draw. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, had little trouble advancing at the expense of Nicolas Jarry. On Wednesday's order of play, Taylor Fritz, the tournament's No. 5 seed, will face British tennis player Jack Draper. Here's a look at what tennis fans can expect in the match.

Fritz vs Draper Head-to-Head Series

These two players have faced one another three times in the past. Fritz leads the series 2-1.

The American won both of their matches in 2024. Fritz beat Draper at the Paris Olympics and at ATP Munich. Each match went three sets but each was also played on clay. Draper won their only non-clay-court match, which dates back to the 2022 season. But that match was played on grass at London's Queen's Club. Their upcoming meeting in Paris will be their first meeting on the hard-court surface. It will also be their first ATP meeting played indoors.

Fritz is the No. 7 player on tour when looking at hard-court service stats. The ATP's Serve Rating statistic is 291.5 for the American, which is very high. In theory, a venue like Paris should help Fritz a lot. However, Draper does have a rock-solid return game. In fact, when looking at the last 52 weeks on the hard-court surface, Draper is the outright No. 1 player on the men's tour for return-of-serve. The match features an excellent server against a distinguished returner.

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Recent Matches for Both Players

Fritz had a bye through the first round in Paris. He last played at the Shanghai Masters, about a month ago, a tournament where he made the semifinals. Before that, he suffered an early exit in Tokyo. Fritz was also in the Laver Cup, a tournament that does not necessarily bring out the best in the top players. But Fritz made the US Open final several weeks ago, losing to Jannik Sinner. With Fritz's best Grand Slam result not too far in the rear-view mirror, you'd have to argue that Fritz is playing his best tennis right now.

Draper played in the first round in Paris, a match where he had little trouble with Jiri Lehecka, posting a 7-5, 6-2 victory. Draper's return game was key in the match. In particular, he made Lehecka's second serve look amateurish. Draper won 16 of 28 return points on Lehecka's second serve. Draper also had six aces in the relatively short match with four double faults. The Brit did not allow Lehecka to have a break-point chance. Lastly, Draper served well in the match, winning an incredible 25 of 26 first-serve points.

Fritz vs Draper Prediction: Fritz to win

This looks like it is going to be a tough match. Fritz has been at the top of his game in most of his recent events but so has Draper. The British player won a title in Vienna last week but at no point did he play anyone as strong as Taylor Fritz.

British fans should also be concerned that Draper just might be tired. Although the British player was sharp in the first round, Fritz promises to keep the Brit on the court for much longer than Lehecka did. You have to think that the sets will be competitive but that it will be the American with the energy late. Fritz enters this match on much better rest than his opponent. If Fritz wins the first set, don't be surprised if the second set is a breeze for the American. In fact, you should be surprised if Draper taps out at some point as his schedule has been tight lately.

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