Frances Tiafoe will meet Daniel Altmaier in the Second Round of the 2023 Italian Open. The match will be played on Saturday May 13th, 2023.
Frances Tiafoe is the 12th ranked player and is seeded 12th here at the Italian Open. The American will not have been too happy with his draw, as he will have to face the dangerous Daniel Altmaier in the Second Round. While he has been in solid form this season with a 20-8 record and winning the title in Houston on clay, he has been in a slump lately, losing in the First Round in Barcelona and Second Round in Madrid. His loss in Madrid to the unheralded Pedro Cachin would have been a huge blow to his confidence, and he will be hoping to get back on track here against a very tough opponent.
Daniel Altmaier is unseeded here at the 2023 Italian Open and is ranked 65th on the ATP Tour. After playing on the Challenger Tour for a few years he has really stepped his game up lately, with a few strong results on the main tour. A strong showing in Madrid where he reached the Quarters wasn’t enough to get him a place in the main draw here, but he came through the Qualifying Rounds relatively comfortably. However, he was pushed to the limit by Wild Card Giulio Zeppieri before winning 6-0 in the third set. He will have to be better here against the struggling American Frances Tiafoe, who hasn’t been great lately but has tremendous upside.
This match should be very close despite the gulf between their rankings, and I am expecting Daniel Altmaier to give Tiafoe a massive test. However, I am a believer in the American, and I think that he has enough firepower to get the job done here. Altmaier is very strong on clay and was fantastic in Madrid, but I think he will be a bit fatigued and will come up just short here. It’ll be a battle, but give me Frances Tiafoe to win here at the Italian Open.