Paul vs Berankis (Approx 04:00am AEST)
We saw some glimpses of the best tennis Tommy Paul can produce in similar conditions at the start of the year (see victory over Dimitrov), and I feel as though the qualifying form of Ricardas Berankis may have been a touch overrated here.
I felt as though Paul was really starting to build with his performance in Acapulco, which included wins over Zverev and McDonald. He is more consistent in North America, and shouldn’t find the conditions much of an issue in New York. The exhibition losses don’t worry me a great deal, and this match-up isn’t too bad for the young American at all.
The difficulty in this match-up is how much weight you place on the two qualifying wins of Berankis. Me? Very little in this instance. Berankis scraped over the line in the second round of qualifying, defeating Uchiyama in a third set tiebreak, isn’t the form that warrants him starting at near evens against Paul. The fact the court speed appears a little faster than anticipated plays into the hands of Paul and his attacking style of play. Berankis can hit a flat ball off both wings at times, however Paul’s ability to play with heavy topspin, coupled with his serve which looked to have improved early in 2020, should be enough.
Another small play by my standards, however I am happy to back Paul to win this match for 1 unit.
Suggested Bet
1 unit Paul to defeat Berankis at $1.83 at Bet365
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