It's been only a few days in the new season, and we already have a blockbuster showdown as Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Alexander Zverev in the 2024 United Cup.
Over the past few years, we've seen many of these Tsitsipas - Zverev battles, and they've been quite interesting. Both players are among some of the best players that we have nowadays, making this early blockbuster a really enticing proposition.
On one side, we have Tsitsipas, who claims to be healthy but doesn't really look all that healthy. He's been dealing with a back issue dating back to last year and missed a few matches already this year.
We'll see how he handles this matchup against Zverev that could possibly go long as the German has the ability to extend rallies.
It doesn't mean that he will, but he might be smart enough to do so, as his general approach doesn't really work against Tsitsipas.
Head-to-head:
The head-to-head doesn't favor the German at all because he is losing it 4-9 at the moment. The last time he actually beat Tsitsipas was in 2022, before his ankle injury in Madrid.
Since then, they have played two matches, and Tsitsipas won both of them, including the most recent one at the Paris Masters just two months ago.
The hard court H2H paints a similar picture. Tstitsipas is ahead as well, but the score is 5-3. It's been a while since they really played that many matches on hard courts, as most of the recent ones have been on clay.
Prediction:
When it comes to this specific match, I tend to believe that Zverev might have the upper hand. The courts are fast, so Tsitsipas will be dangerous, but I just don't trust his back.
It affects his serve, which is a huge weapon for him in these conditions, and if it doesn't work that well, then it's going to be trouble.
Zverev hasn't played the best, but he's pretty stable from the baseline and can extend rallies, which a tight back won't appreciate.
Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in two sets.
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