Alexandre Muller vs Taro Daniel Prediction: Stick with the Japanese

The ATP Auckland Knockout round reaches its quarterfinal stage and Alexandre Muller faces Taro Daniel. Other players at this stage are Ben Shelton, Roberto Carbales Baena, Alejandro Tabio, Cameron Norrie, Arthur Fils, and Daniel Altmaier. This will be the first meeting between Alexandre Muller and Taro Daniel.

Alexandre Muller

Muller had maintained a perfect record since the beginning of the tournament. He was on a 3-match losing streak before the tournament. His last single defeat was at the Tennis Challenger Canberra Australia round of 32 against Brandon Nakashima. Then he lost in a doubles game where he paired with David Goffin and they lost 2:1 against Emilio Nava and Gabriel Diallo. But both defeats did not stop Alexandre Muller, as he began the qualifiers with a 2:0 win over Nino Serdarusic and then a 2:1 over Constant Lestienne.

His first game of the competition was against Benjamin Bonzi and once again Muller showed his class, by defeating the French in straight sets (6:3,7:5). He won 13 games and 78 points in that match. In his next game against Francisco Cerundolo, he also won in straight sets (6:1,6:1). He won 12 games and 60 points.

Taro Daniel

Taro Daniel has also maintained an excellent record in the tournament. His involvement at the ATP Hong Kong was cut early after he suffered a defeat against Miomir Kecmanovic in the round of 32. Despite the defeat, Taro Daniel started the tournament on the right foot with a 2:0 win over Aleksandar Vukic. His stats of the game were: 6 Aces, 5 double faults, 38/49 first serve points won, 10/29 second serve points, 5/7 break points saved, 14 games won and 72 points won.

His next game against Max Purcell ended in a 2:0 win also and he had the following statistics: 7 aces, 15/15 first serve points, 30/33 second serve points, 3/3 break points saved, 12 games won and 63 points won.

Head to Head

No head–to–head record between the players.

Analysis and Predictions

With no head-to-head record, it would be interesting to see how this game ends. Both players are pulling up the right numbers and they are in fine form. We expect this to drag on for a long time because both players are evenly matched in most aspects of the game. But the Japanese should pick up the win at the end of the game.

• Away (+2) Handicap at 1.662 Odds
• Under 22.5 at 1.94 Odds
• First Set Winner Taro Daniel at 1.90 Odds