ATP Tournament in Stuttgart, Round of 16, Wednesday, 14.06.2023
What about the anticipation for the grass court season? Wimbledon will soon be calling, but until the best players hit the court on English soil, there are still one or two tournaments to prepare for, also in Germany.
In Stuttgart, an American is one of the big favourites for the title, but has he got over the early French Open exit?
He may be favoured at Bet3000, but in my Lehecka Tiafoe tip I now reveal why I trust the supposed underdog to win at least one set!
The number 12 in the world meets the number 37? It’s quite something in Stuttgart when it already comes to such a duel in the 2nd round, the round of 16! Frances Tiafoe should therefore know that there are no more easy tasks.
At the French Open, the US-American remained far below his potential, losing in the 3rd round in four sets against Alexander Zverev. The 25-year-old makes no secret of the fact that he prefers to play on hard court.
But now it’s out onto the green grass for the time being. A quick search shows: a single round of 16 at Wimbledon, so that doesn’t seem to be his favourite surface at major tournaments.
These days, he is playing in Stuttgart for the first time ever, and since he is seeded third on the Neckar, he is one of the favourites. Since his tournament win in Houston, which is now more than two months ago, Tiafoe has only managed to win twice in a row.
Not the best prerequisites, but the top player still enjoys full confidence with our betting providers. Odds of 1,30 to 3,25 are called, Tiafoe has never played against Jiri Lehecka in his career.
The Czech has climbed to rank 37, so he can definitely hope for a really strong tournament in Swabia. In contrast to Tiafoe, he has already made his first appearance in Stuttgart.
After a 4-6 loss to Marcos Giron in the first set, he turned up the heat, collected a 6-3, 6-4 and cheered his way into the last 16. 93% won points on the first serve? You can hardly serve much better than that!
In Paris, Lehecka had attracted attention with a win against the strong Jan-Lennard Struff, but was subsequently eliminated outright against Giron. So it is very commendable that he now defeated exactly this opponent.
In the last few days, he was the top favourite at the Prostejov Challenger in his native Czech Republic, where he surprisingly lost in the round of 16. The 21-year-old now wants to show that the fast surface suits him better.
Last year, he played in Stuttgart for the first time ever and lost 6-7, 3-6 to Nick Kyrgios. Since Kyrgios is considered very strong on grass, this result was definitely one to put in the positive category.
My Lehecka Tiafoe Tip
Will the favourites prevail in Swabia or rather the underdogs? Frances Tiafoe was anything but satisfied with the last weeks, such a first tournament on a new surface is often still a test.
Jiri Lehecka is getting stronger and stronger and can also pose problems for the big players. I think the Czech is brave enough not to give in against the supposedly better player and therefore recommend the following tip:
Lehecka wins at least one set!
