With the dawn about to set on the 2024 season and the Race to Turin heating up, players can hardly have any breathing space. Especially Tommy Paul, who is at a striking distance to qualify for the ATP Finals. The American star is in the 11th spot in the Race to Turin leaderboard and a good performance at the Paris Masters will ensure his qualification for the year-ending championships. However, the task won’t be easy for Paul as he opens his campaign against an experienced player in the form of Adrian Mannarino.

36-year-old Mannarino is in the final years of his tennis career. The veteran Frenchman would love to have one last laugh before he calls time on his career. Expect a tough battle on the cards when the two meet each other in Paris.

Tommy Paul vs Adrian Mannarino: Preview

The American star has had one of the best seasons of his career, winning 3 titles. While two were ATP 250 titles in Dallas and Stockholm, Paul also won an ATP 500 Queen’s Club title. Further, he also had decent performances at Grand Slam level, making it to the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships. With each passing day, Paul’s confidence is only rising and he’ll come out all guns blazing to defeat Mannarino in the first round.

On the contrary, Mannarino’s golden days in tennis have already passed by. Although he has had a few wins here and there, the 36-year-old has failed to perform consistently on the tour this season. A semifinal appearance in Dallas is the best he has achieved in 2024 so far. Mannarino enters the Paris Masters having won just 1 of the last 5 matches. He will hope to make amends quickly when he faces Paul.

Paul vs Mannarino: Head-to-head

Despite being on the tennis circuit for a very long time now, Tommy Paul and Mannarino have played only 1 match against each other. It was back in 2022 at the Wimbledon Championships. The American star won the second-round encounter there comfortably in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. Given the contradictory nature of their form, expect a similar result when Paul and Mannarino face off in Paris.

Prediction: Paul to have a comfortable victory over Mannarino

As compared to Mannarino, Tommy Paul has an upper hand in terms of the current form. While Paul is at the 12th spot in the ATP rankings chart, Mannarino lies 46 places below him at the 58th position. Additionally, Paul has won more than 70% of his matches this year whereas the Frenchman has only 13 wins from 42 matches in 2024.

Further, what makes Paul dangerous is his all-round game. The American star possesses decent serve and is solid with his returns as well. As a result, he is predicted to win his first-round match against Mannarino in straight sets and keep his hopes for the ATP Finals alive.