ATP Tournament in Stuttgart, Final, Sunday, 12.06.2022
Final time in Stuttgart! The fans in Swabia would have loved to see a German participant in the final, Oscar Otte narrowly missed out on this success. Instead, his conqueror will compete on Sunday afternoon.
Matteo Berrettini is making a strong comeback, but his performances are not free of problems. Now he will meet an opponent who hardly anyone thought a year ago would be able to compete for a title again. In fact, the German betting companies put both players almost on an equal footing.
35 years old, numerous injuries, but still plenty of fighting spirit and passion, that’s exactly what characterises Berrettini’s rival. In my Murray Berrettini tip, I reveal why I expect a long match from a sports betting point of view!
Andy Murray in the final in Stuttgart – if that’s not compensation for the fans being denied a German participant in the final! The Scot has really played his way back into the limelight after a long period of suffering.
In the last few months, he has repeatedly attracted attention by being able to hold his own against real top stars and annoy them. Now he manages not only to annoy them, but even to send them home.
At his premiere on the Neckar, the 35-year-old had no luck of the draw. After beating Christopher O’Connell 6-4, 6-3, he dispatched Alexander Bublik 7-6, 6-3, only to really pick up speed afterwards.
He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, top seed in Stuttgart, 7-6, 6-3! Murray’s powerful serve was the Greek’s undoing. When he also beat Nick Kyrgios 7-6, 6-2, the triumph was perfect.
Interestingly, Murray has won three tiebreaks in a row, so you can hardly have better nerves. Neither Tsitsipas nor Kyrgios were able to break, and together they only had the opportunity to do so three times anyway.
Murray has won over 80% of his first serve points in his last two matches, which is another way in which he’s been able to take the edge off his opponents. Now he faces a rival who is just as strong on serve.
7-6, 7-6 and 3-6, 3-6 are the two results Murray achieved against Berrettini. The bookmakers are unanimous that it will be a very close match on Sunday.
While Murray has beaten all his opponents outright, the world number 10 has had to do some serious detention. The Roman missed the entire clay court season after an injury and is only now returning to the tennis stage.
He started the tournament with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Radu Albot, and his match against Lorenzo Sonego also went over three sets. In both duels, it was evident that he was looking for land on his opponent’s serve.
Then in the semi-final against Oscar Otte the ultimate showdown. Both players neutralised each other completely and did not allow the other to break. Berrettini won exactly two strokes more than his opponent, thus reaching 7-6, 7-6, which could not have been closer.
Berrettini, who is 1.96m tall, rattled 18 aces over the net and with this advantage up his sleeve, he wants to win his second title in Stuttgart after 2019. Will it be a good omen that he had eliminated a German, Jan-Lennard Struff, before his final win against Felix Auger-Aliassime?
My Murray Berrettini tip
You could have expected Matteo Berrettini in the final in Stuttgart, but to believe Andy Murray would win the title would have been a bit presumptuous. The Scot serves as if he has never had any injury problems.
He beat all his opponents to nil, including Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Since both players convinced me differently, my tip for the final is:
We see three sets!
