ATP tournament in Rotterdam, final, Sunday, 18.02.2024
Interesting pairing in the final of the 500 tournament in Rotterdam. Jannik Sinner confirms his outstanding form after his first Grand Slam triumph in Melbourne and is aiming for his next title on hard court.
However, he has no easy opponent ahead of him. Alex de Minaur is also eyeing the winner’s trophy and a whopping 500 points for the world rankings.
In my Sinner de Minaur tip, I’m expecting the South Tyrolean to win, but it’s unlikely to be a quick run for him
Even after his triumph in Melbourne, Sinner continues to impress with his down-to-earth attitude. He is still nowhere near his peak performance. After his triumph, Italy’s currently most sought-after athlete wanted to get back on court as quickly as possible.
He was able to impressively demonstrate that he has not lost his form from the first major of the year despite the numerous invitations, including from the Italian ministry, at the 500 tournament in Rotterdam.
The tournament also began with a good omen, as his first round opponent was the same as at the Australian Open: Botic van de Zandschulp. Once again, he was able to knock the Dutchman out of the tournament without dropping a set
Gael Monfils demanded more from him in the round of 16, surprising Sinner with a set equalizer in the meantime. But in the end, Sinner made fewer mistakes and secured another break in the decisive third set.
After winning a tie-break in the quarter-finals, Sinner benefited from the Canadian Milos Raonic retiring; he was also the better player against Tallon Griekspoor, the second Dutchman, whom he beat in a rush.
Quite rightly, Sinner is once again considered the favorite in the final by the best betting providers. There are still 1.23 odds at Tipwin for the Sinner bet, which is a good choice for a combined ticket on Sunday. The odds for de Minaur are 3.75.
For my Sinner de Minaur tip, however, I prefer to take a look at the Über-Spiele market. Tipwin is one of the few bookmakers that still offers these bets in Germany. Tipwin also flexes its muscles with tax-free betting and an attractive new customer bonus.
Odds of 1.58 are available for over 20.5 games in a match. With three sets, the bet would be through with almost any outcome, but even with a 7-5, 6-3 or 7-6, 6-2, sports betting fans should be happy about a winning ticket. Why am I ruling out a rapid Sinner victory?
Sinner didn’t get through the tournament completely flawlessly; in addition to losing the set against Monfils, he also allowed individual breaks in the other matches. Griekspoor, for example, had six break chances in the semi-finals, but was unable to capitalize on any of them.
Of all his opponents so far, de Minaur is definitely likely to be the toughest in the final. The Australian is particularly strong on hard court indoors, winning 15 of his last 21 matches in these conditions, and is still unbeaten this year
In general, he is having a strong year in 2024, beating Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev at the United Cup. In Melbourne, he only lost to Andrey Rublev in round four after letting a 2:1 set lead slip away.
Like Sinner, de Minaur has only lost one set in Rotterdam, against Rublev. But this time the world number eleven, who also defeated Sebastian Korda, David Goffin and Grigor Dimitrov, came out on top.
De Minaur now has four wins against top 10 players in the still young year 2024, a strong record. His form is definitely better than in 2023, when he lost twice to Sinner. He was also no match for the South Tyrolean on clay in May 2022.
In fact, he is still without a win against Sinner, at least in terms of play. On paper, the score is 6:1 in Sinner’s favor, but he was unable to compete in Paris in 2023 and therefore has a defeat to his name
My Sinner de Minaur tip
Sinner and de Minaur have only dropped one set each in Rotterdam. Overall, as in Melbourne, the South Tyrolean leaves very little to chance, but his opponents do get a few break chances from time to time.
And in these conditions, he will only now face his toughest opponent in the final, de Minaur, who is in very strong form this year and has already celebrated four victories against top 10 players.
It is likely to be one of Sinner’s most difficult matches against the Australian. However, I don’t want to rule out a two-set victory, but a quick one. That’s why I’m going for over 20.5 games in the match in my Sinner de Minaur betting tip.
My Sinner de Minaur tip: Over 20.5 games
