Arthur Cazaux will take on the Spanish tennis star, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the R32 of the Atlanta Open. The 25-year-old Spaniard is aiming for a good comeback after staying out of action for a few weeks due to a back injury. Fokina has proven his mettle quite a few times in the past, he even reached the QF of the French Open in 2021, but this time it’s a different surface. Who will win this intriguing battle on the outdoor hard courts?

The 21-year-old Frenchman started his season with a bang! He won the Challenger Noumea, NC, and then made a run to the fourth round of the AO. However, he has failed to make his make his presence felt for the rest of the tournaments. Fokina, on the other hand, has already reached two QFs this season and now it’ll be interesting to see if the Spaniard can make yet another deep run in a tournament this year.

Arthur Cazaux vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Cazaux is entering this match after his second-round loss at the hands of Alexander Bublik in Wimbledon. The Kazakhstani tennis star outclassed the Frenchman by 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-4. Cazaux hit 7 aces and committed 9 double faults. He won 74% of his first serve, and 52% of his second serve. Cazaux could not take any break points, nor push Bublik to one, but lost 2 out of 4 to his opponent. 

Now, if we look at his overall stats for this season, Cazaux hit 156 aces this season committing 49 double faults in total. He has won 87% of his service games compared to just 18% of his return games.

Fokina on the other hand had played his last match against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the R32 of the Queen’s Club Championships. The Chilean defeated Fokina by 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-1. The Spaniard managed to score 14 aces against Tabilo. He committed 4 double faults in the entire match. His first-serve win percentage was 72% but on the second-serve, it dropped to 50%, and in the breakpoints, he recorded 1/4 and saved 4 out of 6.

Fokina has hit 101 aces and committed 39 double faults this season. He has won 79% of his service games and 20% of his return games. Their numbers look quite decent, so this will be an exciting contest to watch. Has the Spaniard faced Cazaux before in his career though?

Cazaux vs Fokina: Head-to-Head

This will be the first meeting of the two on the ATP Tour! Arthur Cazaux is currently ranked 92 in the world, while Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is ranked 43 at the moment. Is this the only factor that perhaps is going to keep the Spaniard slightly ahead of the Frenchman? On his day Cazaux can come up with a real challenge to any opponent. He surely has the potential to disrupt all the equations.

Prediction: Fokina to win this match in a tight three-setter

Coming back from an injury is never easy! However, Fokina is a relatively more experienced campaigner than the 21-year-old. He has been in these positions before in his career and perhaps knows a way or two on how to bring the best out of himself against a challenger like Arthur Cazaux. The Frenchman has a win-loss record of 6-7 this season compared to Fokina’s 11-13. So, nothing to boast about for either regarding their performances in this season.

Fokina is known for having one of the best drop shots in the Tour. Talking about drop shots, Cazaux uses this shot to tempt his opponents to come to the nets so that he can finish off the points with his precise lobs. So, the Spaniard needs to be aware of this threat while coming to the net against the Frenchman. Arthur Cazaux also has a strong two-handed backhand and his counter-punching playing style can be really effective on the hard courts.

Both can generate some real venom in their groundstrokes but Fokina’s quick movements may be the real answer to all the questions that will be put on by Cazaux in this match. So, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is most likely to win this battle!