Carlos Alcaraz Garcia vs. Grigor Dimitrov Prediction: Alcaraz to Keep Marching Forward

On Thursday, November 3, top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain will face Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov in the third round of the 2022 Paris Masters.

No. 1 in the world Carlos Alcaraz got off to a strong start at the Paris Masters, defeating Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Spaniard, who is pursuing his sixth championship of the season in the last Masters 1000 tournament, won with 9 aces and 30 wins.

Alcaraz was broken once in the eighth game of the first set, but he broke the Japanese twice to win. Alcaraz did not face a break point in the second set, but he converted one of the two that he held to progress to the third round of the Paris Masters for the second year in a row.

The victory raised the Spaniard's record to 56-14 amid a stellar season that included his maiden Grand Slam triumph at the US Open and his first two Masters 1000 victories in Miami and Madrid.

He also won his first two ATP 500 tournaments this year and finished runner-up in two additional finals, but he has not to reach a final since the US Open. He got into a terrific flow early in the tournament and will now be aiming to keep it going as he seeks for another deep run.

A day after defeating Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round, Grigor Dimitrov improved his level in the round of 32 to defeat Italy's Fabio Fognini and advance to the third round in Paris for the ninth time in ten attempts.

The Bulgarian, who reached the semifinals in 2019, has been knocked out seven times in the third round. It will be intriguing to see if he can advance beyond the third round for the second time in the event, since he will face the competition's top seed this time.

However, Dimitrov has been in superb form over the previous two weeks. He reached the semifinals in Vienna after defeating Van de Zandschulp in the opening round 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5).

Dimitrov bageled the Italian in the opening set on Wednesday. He didn't face a break point throughout the set, but he held 11 of them, converting three of them and winning by one set.

Fognini fought back in the second set, breaking back after surrendering an early break. But Dimitrov broke again late in the set to win the match 6-0, 7-5.

The world number one is off to a strong start and is anticipated to advance far in the competition. Expect him to beat Dimitrov and move to the season's fifth Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

• Total Over 22 for 1.91
• Handiсap Grigor Dimitrov (+4) for 1.87
• Individual Total 2 Over 10 for 1.85