ATP Buenos Aires: Frances Tiafoe vs Facundo Bagnis 3/2/2021 Tennis Prediction

Eighth seeded Frances Tiafoe of the USA faces Argentinian Facundo Bagnis in the First Round of the 2021 ATP Buenos Aires Event. The pair have played each other once before in their careers with Tiafoe winning on that occasion. The match is scheduled to be played on Monday March 1st, 2021 and will be on a clay court. 

Frances Tiafoe was one considered one of the top young stars on the ATP Tour, announcing himself on the world stage by reaching the 2019 Australian Open Quarter-Finals. Currently ranked #62, he has largely failed to live up to those lofty expectations but at only 23 years of age, time is on his side. An incredible athlete, he has a huge serve and big groundstrokes that allow him to control points from the baseline. He has gotten off to a relatively good start in 2021, notably with a a Second Round appearance at the Australian Open. While the result does not appear great on paper, he was on control for large portions of his match against world number one Novak Djokovic and can perhaps consider himself unlucky not to have won. He will have taken confidence from that match and shown himself that he is capable of beating anyone on his day. 

Argentinian Facundo Bagnis is in good form of late. reaching the Semi-Finals of the Cordoba Open last week, losing in three sets to Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Currently ranked #130, he was once as high as 55 in the world and is a very dangerous opponent. With strong lefty groundstrokes and extremely good movement, he is particularly dangerous on clay. While he enters this match as the firm underdog, he will be confident of victory given his recent exploits on clay and the fact that this is not the American’s favorite surface. 

Despite the gulf in their rankings, I expect this to be a very competitive match. Bagnis is at home on clay and is on a hot streak. Despite this, I see Tiafoe being slightly too strong and he should win this match. I am expecting a slow start as he gets acclimatized, but once he does I think that he has the tools to overpower the Argentinian, even on the slower surface. Frances Tiafoe to win.