This exciting matchup between two great players, Alexander Zverev and Nicolas Jarry, could go either way, so let's try the impossible and predict what will happen at the 2023 China Open.
There are many interesting nuggets which makes this a very polarizing matchup. On one hand, we have Alexander Zverev who dealt with an incredibly late finish in the previous round though that was a day ago. He had time to recover properly but had to play a doubles match which might have had some impact on said recovery.
We don't really know, but we'll find out when he faces Nicolas Jarry, who has been really strong for much of this year. The Chilean was once a great player, and he's on track to get back to that level. His bread and butter is clay, but he's capable on other surfaces as well.
The conditions in Beijing suit him really well, which is why he's been able to shock Tsitsipas and then add a win over Arnaldi as well. Can he do it again? Well, he's beaten Zverev before, once even this year.
Head-to-head:
The head-to-head does favour Zverev, but only barely. It's 3-2 on the ATP Tour for the German, with the players splitting the matches this year. Zverev won in Halle, hardly a surprise, while Jarry won in Geneva, kind of a surprise. The previous ones happened years ago and are irrelevant to this match.
Prediction:
So what exactly makes this so polarising? Well, on the one hand, we have Jarry, who has a powerful serve that will help him and a great forehand that can do wonders. Zverev, though, is uniquely qualified to counter Jarry with his excellent court coverage, especially with the higher bounce.
He'll be able to reach many balls that generally might be out of reach, and that might be a problem for Jarry. He doesn't have too many weapons outside of his signature ones so if you wall him successfully, you have a good way of beating him.
Part of that equation will be how Jarry plays on that day. His best will be tough to handle, his usual level should be fine. Zverev will need to avoid double faults and really dominate on his serve and if he does that he'll win.
Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in three sets.
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