ATP Tournament in Antwerp, 1st round, Wednesday, 19.10.2022
The squirrel feeds with difficulty, or as we have been putting it in our tennis tips for a few months now: Dominic Thiem feeds with difficulty! The Austrian is improving from tournament to tournament and wants to end the year 2022 on a positive note.
In the next few days, he will compete in Antwerp and is the heavy favourite in his first round on Wednesday at Betano. Therefore, I will now reveal in my Geerts Thiem tip how clear the bet on the former Grand Slam winner should be!
For many months, bettors have struggled to be optimistic about Dominic Thiem’s comeback. The Viennese had too much trouble coming back after his long injury and missed victories.
In the meantime, however, it is really fun to watch the 29-year-old again and most can actually imagine a return to the top of the world! He has already made up more than 100 places and is currently ranked number 132.
What is still possible this year? The season is coming to an end soon, maybe Thiem will manage to knock on the door of the top 100. It should be possible, after all, Thiem showed his best side in Gijon in the last few days.
He beat Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-0 in no time, came back incredibly strong against Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. His 6-4, 6-3 against No. 4 seed Francisco Cerundolo also cannot be praised enough.
Finally, in the semi-finals, a real cracker went up, Thiem was allowed to take on Andrey Rublev. He lost 4-6, 4-6, but showed the world: I can now compete with the best in the circus again!
In Antwerp, a number of stars are competing again, but Thiem now wants to have a serious say in the semi-finals. It seems almost impossible that he will be eliminated in the first round, which has happened often enough after his comeback.
Our bookmakers can’t imagine that at all, the Betano bonus doesn’t even bring much if we send Thiem into the race with a 2:0 victory. Here we would not even be at odds of 1.40.
So who is Michael Geerts, his opponent on Wednesday? The world number 162 is theoretically only 30 places away from Dominic Thiem, but nevertheless receives betting odds of 7.00 in the 1st round in Antwerp.
The local hero is hoping for the support of the Belgian fans. In recent months, he has virtually only competed in Challengers, but he has clearly set his priorities.
In the case of Geerts, the focus is on doubles, where he has had great success. Without a partner at his side, however, hardly anything succeeds. The results leave a lot to be desired, I can’t find any surprises worth mentioning far and wide.
Two years ago, he wanted to celebrate his premiere in Antwerp, but failed already in the qualification. Michael Geerts has never met Dominic Thiem before, so the audience will experience a real premiere on Wednesday.
My Geerts Thiem Tip
Dominic Thiem may not be back to his old self according to the world rankings, but his performances are now starting to look a bit like the man who won the US Open in New York two years ago.
The Austrian is getting better and better and it is finally fun to watch his matches again. Thanks to the strong results in Gijon, he is clearly ahead in his first round in Antwerp.
Since I couldn’t see any good results from Michael Geerts in singles, I don’t think Thiem lacks the necessary consistency. My betting recommendation is therefore:
Despite -4,5 HC there is a win for Thiem!
