Stefanos Tsitsipas started off his 2023 Vienna Open campaign with a win, and now he's facing a red-hot Tomas Machac.
Machac has been playing superb tennis for a couple of weeks now, winning an ATP Challenger before continuing his successful spree indoors. He's always been a very potent player but never found the consistency to really carve out a regular presence in the Top 50.
His current level is certainly good enough, and it will be a complicated matchup. Tsitsipas played really well in the first round; however, he'll need a much better level against Machac.
The complications arise from the Czech's ability to hit some incredible shots and ability to play really aggressively. That's the type of play that bothers Tsitsipas, especially indoors.
Head-to-head:
They never played so far, which is interesting but it's mostly related to Machac's inability to remain in the Top 100. He spends most of his time on the Challenger Tour despite being a really solid player. It would have been really useful to have seen a matchup between them because it could go several ways.
Prediction:
On the one hand, you have Tsitsipas, who is capable of producing a really strong level but is also very capable of bombing against young and aggressive players like Machac.
The Czech player, on the other hand, is really streaky, unpredictably so, but he's looked really solid in recent weeks. The serve of Tsitsipas will be crucial because if he can keep Machac away from any long rallies that would play him into a rhythm, then it's your best shot.
I wouldn't be shocked if we saw a few tiebreaks as well, so overall, he'll just need to be really solid on his serve. We'll see if it works out. I could see an upset here.
Prediction: Tomas Machac to win in three sets.
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