ATP Tournament in Halle, 1st Round, Wednesday, 15.06.2022
Finally it’s over, the clay court season! That’s roughly how Daniil Medvedev should sum up the last few weeks. The Russian has not been in top form lately, but he is the current world No. 1.
In Halle, he is aiming for the tournament victory, but already gets a quite demanding opponent in the 1st round.
In my Medvedev Goffin tip, I will therefore try to find out why the bookmakers have made him such a clear favourite. I expect a much closer affair!
A defeat, but still jumped back to the top of the world rankings, that’s what happened to Daniil Medvedev a few days ago. The 26-year-old is first of all happy that the unpleasant matches on clay will now disappear from the scene again for many months.
In Hertogenbosch last week, he advanced to the final. He won outright against Gilles Simon, Ilya Ivashka and Adrian Mannarino, but his victories were never less than 22 games.
In the final, the cold shower followed: a 4-6, 1-6 against Tim van Rijthoven! Only 56% of the points won on the first serve or two break chances of his own, there were many reasons for this clear defeat.
Nevertheless, the final was enough to regain the number one spot in the world rankings. If Medvedev wants to stay on top, he will have to deliver a convincing competition in Halle. In his debut last year, he lost 6-7, 3-6 to Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round.
Now he has to play David Goffin for the fourth time in his career.
The last two have been hard-fought, including a five-setter at Wimbledon. No question, Goffin knows how to play against Medvedev. Strangely, the betting companies have very little confidence in him.
With odds of 1.20 to 4.50, Bet365 is relatively sure that there will be a Russian success. Goffin, the world number 39, has been searching for his former top form for some time.
First of all, at 1.80 metres, he measures almost 20 centimetres less than Medvedev, a distinct disadvantage when it comes to serving. He failed twice in Halle right at the start, so he knows the feeling of a very quick elimination.
On the other hand, he has already celebrated a great success here and reached the final in 2019. After defeating Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini, he was defeated by Roger Federer in the final.
Three years ago, however, David Goffin was much stronger than he is now. At the French Open, he had no chance against Hubert Hurkacz in the 3rd round, and in general, his stronger and weaker results alternate.
If he has a good day, he can also put the fear of God into Rafael Nadal. Generally speaking, Goffin should never be underestimated, but he should not be ranked among the absolute top stars either.
My Medvedev Goffin Tip
How strong is Daniil Medvedev really at the moment? Although he no longer has to compete on clay, his performances in the Netherlands have not been really convincing lately. The victories were close and hard-fought, the embarrassment in the final, the Russian is known to be much more confident.
David Goffin is a bit of a surprise packet. He is the clear underdog at the bookmakers, but he can always annoy the best. Since Medvedev is not in his strongest form at the moment, I bet:
We see more than 20.5 games!
