Jack Draper v Taro Daniel: Prediction, Tips and Odds

After a first round exit in Indian Wells, Jack Draper will be looking to salvage something from his Sunshine Double campaign when he begins his Miami Masters campaign against Taro Daniel on Wednesday.

Last month, illness forced Draper to retire from his semi-final in Acapulco against Alex de Minaur. However, his form was good to that point, beating Tommy Paul, Yoshihito Nishioka and Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets to reach the last four.

Revenge on Paul after his elimination at the Australian Open was particularly impressive and although frustrating, his early defeat to Christopher O'Connell in Indian Wells was a shock, the Australian's subsequent 4-6 4-6 loss to Alexander Zverev hints that the Brit may not have gone further.

Daniel, 26 places adrift of Draper in the rankings, beat Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4 6-1in California before being humbled 1-6 2-6 by De Minaur.

After a decent start to 2024, featuring a defeat to Alejandro Tabilo in the final, the American's form has levelled off and this is a real opportunity for Draper to reach the second round where Nicolas Jarry awaits the victor.

Jack Draper v Taro Daniel betting tips and predictions

Jack Draper to win 2-0 @ 8/11

Draper's early exit in Indian Wells saw him miss the chance to dethrone Cameron Norrie as Britain's Men's number one after a fine start to 2024.

In addition to reaching the last four in Acapulco, where food poisoning derailed his hopes, Draper also has a first ATP final appearance on his CV for the year, going down to Jiri Lehecka in Adelaide.

That run also included victories over Kecmanovic and Paul, as well as Sebastian Baez and Alexander Bublik.

The O'Connell defeat will have worried him and his entourage after seemingly shaking off that type of inconsistency over the last 12 months. Missing out on becoming the nation's number one will also have been frustrating.

Wednesday's match is a chance to show the O'Connell defeat was nothing more than a blip and the 22-year-old will feel he has the game to punish Daniel and build momentum towards a potential upset against Jarry.

The American is a tidy player, but there are areas of his repertoire that can be exposed, and Draper can take advantage in what is the pair's first career head-to-head meeting.

First Taro Daniel Service Game - Break Point - Yes - 6/5

A way to do that could be to go after Daniel's serve early on and it would not be a surprise to see Draper force a break point in his opponent's opening service game.

Getting the ball back is a big part of the Londoner's game and he currently leads the ATP's Return Leaders stats.

He has achieved 52.9% on '% 2nd Serve Return Points Won' and enjoys a Tour high 49.5% when it comes to '% Break Points Converted'.

By contrast, Taro Daniel is 75th in serving on the Tour and averages just 3.7 aces per match, good enough for 67th in the standings, while his average of 2.5 double faults per match is hardly something to aspire to.

Winning just 68.3% of his first serve points can put him on the back foot, while his 73.8% of Service Games Won is another number that will excite Draper and his team.

An early break could set the tone for the match and Daniel's shortcomings on serve mean he might be nervous in his opening game.

Even if he does get the ball in, his opponent's excellent returning keeps him in rallies and offer chances for points.

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Jack Draper v Taro Daniel odds

To win match
Jack Draper - 2/9
Taro Daniel - 10/3

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.