ATP Tournament in Stuttgart, semi-finals, Saturday, 17.06.2023
final atmosphere on the Neckar! An exciting weekend is in store for us at the ATP tournament in Stuttgart, on Saturday it will be decided which two players will be in the final one day later.
A US-American seeded at position 3 will meet a qualifier in the morning, yet his favourites at Bet3000 are rather thinly spread. In my Tiafoe Fucsovic tip, I will now reveal why I, like the bookmakers, am betting on a win for the favourite!
Frances Tiafoe was considered one of the big title favourites for the Boss Open in Stuttgart right from the start. The world number 12 wants to finally crack the top 10 before Wimbledon starts, so the timing would be perfect for this.
Because he is so high up in the world rankings, he saved himself a few matches on the Neckar, only having to start in the last 16. For comparison: His current opponent, Marton Fucsovics, already has five matches under his belt.
Although the US player won both games, he struggled quite a bit. He started with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Jiri Lehecka, and his next opponent also made life very difficult for him.
Against Lorenzo Musetti, the fans experienced an absolute spectacle, both won a tiebreak. In the decisive third set, Tiafoe showed killer qualities, snatching victory with a 6-2.
His service was much better against Lehecka (84% won points on the first serve and 77% on the second), because against Musetti “only” 76% and 41% came over the net.
Understandable, Musetti is after all a really strong competitor. One who is clearly ahead of Marton Fucsovics in the ranking. Does that automatically mean that Tiafoe will make it to the final on his debut in Stuttgart?
In fact, the direct comparison is 2:1 for the Hungarian! That may sound surprising at first glance, but it quickly puts it into perspective. In 2018 and 2020, Fucsovics prevailed, the most recent duel almost three years ago went to Tiafoe.
So the pairing has had a bit of a break, with the previous three results always offering more than 22.5 games. Our betting providers expect a relatively close affair anyway.
1.55 to 2.40 on average for the US American, a win by his opponent would not be a sensation at all. Interesting to note: Bet365 offers odds of 1.66 if we get to see at least one tiebreaker.
Marton Fucsovics is definitely not without a chance and can be counted among the best four for the first time in Stuttgart. His path already began in the qualification, so he already has twelve sets in his bones.
After wins against Louis Weßels and Altug Celikbilek, the journey began in the main draw. Denis Shapovalov was a tough opponent, but the Hungarian surprisingly won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
He also needed three sets against Wu Yibing from China with his 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Probably the biggest surprise came in the quarter-finals when he faced Taylor Fritz, seeded second.
Fucsovics remained ice-cold, winning 6-4, 7-5 and will have attracted the attention of Frances Tiafoe! He did not let Fritz break once, collected a proud 84% of points won on the first service.
He will have to bring this strength to the court in the semi-finals. For the first time since a Challenger in Canberra at the beginning of January, he has reached the round of the best four again, so his nervousness could be high.
My Tiafoe Fucsovic’s Tip
Frances Tiafoe was considered the top favourite for the Boss Open title from the start, and now he is just one step away from the final. His two victories were very close, so his opponent can also hope for the final.
His rival, Marton Fucsovics, has already won five times, Denis Shapovalov and Taylor Fritz also failed against this man. In the end, however, I think Tiafoe is cool enough to strike at the decisive moment. Therefore, my tip is:
Tiafoe wins against Fucsovics!
