Alexander Zverev bested Roman Safiullin recently in Chengdu, and he'll face him again at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, so what will happen now?
There are a lot of things that could happen in this very interesting matchup. The courts in Shanghai play rather similarly to the ones in Chengdu, though you could argue that the conditions were even faster in the latter. That should help Safiullin greatly but what helps him also helps Zverev in a way.
That's why their most recent matchup was as close as it was. Zverev barely pulled out of the win, and I see something similar happen here. For starters, Safiullin already played a match in Shanghai and actually won easily against Andy Murray.
That should help him against Zverev, for whom this will be the first match in Shanghai in somewhat different conditions compared to Beijing last week.
Head-to-head:
Now, that most recent match is not the only one they ever played. They also played at the 2021 French Open, and that match was relatively close. It's just a really close matchup, which is a testament to how well Safiullin has played.
He's a Top 50 ranked player right now, which speaks volumes about his tremendous rise, and he's by far the most dangerous on hard courts.
Prediction:
As I said above, a repeat of what we saw in Chengdu is rather likely, considering both players' conditions and form. Don't expect Safiullin to lose easily and don't expect Zverev to cruise easily. This one will be close, with at least one tiebreak and only margins deciding.
Both will need the serve to work on a decent level to win, as it should give both a solid buffer against the opponent. Zverev had the better one in Chengdu, and it likely will tip this matchup in his favour again.
Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in three sets.
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