Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP 500 match.
The odds heavily favour Stefanos Tsitsipas, but his victory isn't as guaranteed as it seems. The start of the Basel tournament raised doubts about the Greek player's form.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
The first-round match against Francisco Cerundolo was extremely challenging for the Greek, despite a promising start. Tsitsipas won the first set 6:3 and led 4:3 in the next, but things soon went awry. He lost his serve and couldn't recover in the tiebreak (3:7). In the decisive set, the third seed managed to stay ahead, but almost every service game was laborious and lengthy: 16 rallies at 3:3, and 10 at 4:4. He eventually lost his serve at 5:5. Thankfully, he pulled himself together and didn't lose the match entirely. The tiebreak went smoothly, ending 7:4. Now he faces a tenacious Dutchman who is capable of defeating even Carlos Alcaraz on a hard court.
Botic van de Zandschulp
In the first round in Basel, the Dutchman surpassed Alexander Bublik, ranked 32nd. He technically won the match because the Kazakhstani retired at 3:6, 6:4, 4:0, although we think Botic would have closed it out regardless. His opponent faltered with double faults (11-2) and a weak first serve (49-70%). Bublik also made more unforced errors (24-14). Did van de Zandschulp win due to his opponent's shaky play? Partially yes, but he also held his own, excelling except in aces (5-16).
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Botic van de Zandschulp Prediction
Again, considering Tsitsipas' performance against Francisco Cerúndolo, we're not confident in his victory: Botic will put up significant resistance if he loses. They've met once before, when Stefanos won (7:5, 6:3). We believe this time there will be even more games.
