Paris Masters 2022: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Holger Rune Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Paris Masters as Carlos Alcaraz takes on Holger Rune in the quarterfinal on Friday, November 4th, 2022.

The first all-teenage quarterfinal at Masters 1000 level since 2007 will feature two of the biggest talents in men’s tennis. Carlos Alcaraz is looking to reach his first semifinal since winning the US Open. While Holger Rune is aiming to win an astonishing 19th match on indoor hard courts at the Paris Masters. Who will prevail?

Carlos Alcaraz is yet to grab a stranglehold of the men’s tour since becoming No. 1. But the Paris Masters could be the tournament that sort of give him the head start. Alcaraz has secured his place in the last eight after knocking out Yoshihito Nishioka and Grigor Dimitrov without dropping a set. In fact, the young Spaniard, made light work of his experiencedopponent Dimitrov, taking just an hour and 11 minutes on the court. He won nine of the first 10 games as he asserted his authority in the match. The Bulgarian could not quite match up in intensity and aggression.

Holger Rune, meanwhile, celebrated his place inside the top 20 with some mammoth wins this week. The Danish teenager upended three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka in a frenetic opener. Then he scored giant killing wins over Turin aspirant Hubert Hurkacz (ended his hopes) and Andrey Rublev.Rune will now look to avenge last year’s loss at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan against Carlos Alcaraz when they square off at the Paris Masters.

Carlos Alcaraz leads Holger Rune 1-0 in their head-to-head. That meeting took place at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, with Alcaraz winning their Round Robin rubber in straight sets. Both players have been on upward trajectory in 2022, with Alcaraz’s meteoric rise grabbing all the headlines. But Rune is clearly a man with plenty of wind in his sails coming into this quarterfinal clash at the Paris Masters. He has taken down some big names this autumn while simultaneously showcasing his special talents. I still think he will fall short here. This will be Rune’s 15th match since the start of October, an average of one match every two days at the top level. The top seed will squeeze every ounce of kilojoule out of Rune. His athletic ability should give him a major advantage.