French Open in Paris, quarter-finals, Wednesday, 07.06.2023
Alexander Zverev is fighting his way into the tournament. Germany’s number one tennis player won against Grigor Dimitrov in three sets. The Bulgarian did not drop a set in the first rounds.
The Hamburg native now has to play Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-finals. If he wins, Zverev will reach the semi-finals of the French Open for the third time in a row.
His opponent is Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Will he beat the Argentine? In my Zverev Etcheverry tip, I provide a prediction for the match.
The omens before the French Open were not good for Alexander Zverev. He has not been able to beat a top-10 player since he tore seven ligaments in the last staging of the tournament.
In Madrid, Rome and the like, he still lacked consistency at the very high tennis level. Roland Garros, however, is currently proving to be a knot loosener.
In particular, his return game was outstanding in the first rounds. He had 45 break points in the last three rounds alone.
The betting companies are also impressed by the performance. In the meantime, the “Zverev wins the French Open” odds have dropped into single digits at 9.00.
Zverev is the clear favourite in the quarter-finals against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Bet365 offers odds of 1.33 on the German. A 3.40 is waiting for a bet on the Argentine.
The odds are definitely justified. When Zverev is not stumbling, it is difficult to make the point against the defensively strong Hamburg player.
He took the service games from Dimitrov in a row. After the second serve, the Bulgarian secured just 27 percent of the points. Even on the first serve, the yield was meagre at just over 60 per cent.
In the course of the French Open, Zverev got a better and better feel for the rallies and built up the confidence to hit winning shots towards the baseline.
Before the match against Dimitrov, he beat Frances Tiafoe, Alex Molcan and Lloyd Harris. What is clear is that the one really big opponent has yet to appear.
Etcheverry, the world number 49, is not one of the top players either. Only in the semi-finals would he have the opportunity to beat a top 10 player for the first time since his injury.
In the course of the French Open, Zverev got a better and better feel for the rallies and built up the confidence to hit winning shots towards the baseline.
Before the match against Dimitrov, he beat Frances Tiafoe, Alex Molcan and Lloyd Harris. What is clear is that the one really big opponent has yet to appear.
Etcheverry, the world number 49, is not one of the top players either. Only in the semi-finals would he have the opportunity to beat a top 10 player for the first time since his injury.
Zverev has already had to play out four tiebreaks in four rounds. Etcheverry played out one in each of his last three matches.
The odds are nevertheless high. Bet365 offers 1.90 odds for over 0.5 tiebreaks in a match. This is another bet that should definitely not be ignored.
Etcheverry prevailed over Yoshihito Nishioka, Borna Coric, Alex De Minaur and Jack Draper. The latter had to retire in the first round due to injury.
Like Dimitrov, the Argentinean will start the match against Zverev without losing a set. But that will most likely change on Wednesday.
Total: The first successes at the French Open could give Zverev the crucial self-confidence for the decisive matches at the second Grand Slam of the year.
A win would see him reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the third year in a row. After his strong defensive play in the first rounds, I definitely trust him to win against Etcheverry.
Moreover, I am convinced that the Olympic champion will not have to play the full length of the match. Therefore, in my Zverev Etcheverry tip, I recommend that Zverev wins with a -1.5 set handicap.
