ATP tournament in tournament, 1st group match, Sunday, 12.11.2023
The whole tennis world is looking forward to this tournament, the ATP Finals! The best eight players of 2023 will meet in Turin. Among them are Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will play the opening match.
As an Italian, Sinner will play three home matches in the group stage against Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune. He has also been very successful on hard courts this year. He has won 14 of his 17 matches indoors.
According to the odds, he is also ahead against Tsitsipas after his strong year, but in the direct duel it looks bleak for the South Tyrolean. In my Sinner Tsitsipas betting tip, I give you the best bets for this match.
Bet3000 sees Sinner (1.40) clearly ahead in the opening match against Tsitsipas (2.70). One or two tennis fans will frown here, as it was the Greek who won five of the seven previous duels.
But anyone who has followed the 2023 tennis season and analyzed the duels in detail can easily explain the odds given by the betting providers. While Sinner presents his best tennis on hard courts, Tsitsipas feels particularly at home on the red clay.
Tsitsipas and Sinner have played each other four times on clay. The South Tyrolean only managed to hold his own at the Masters in Rome in 2020. He also won their last encounter in February.
They played the second round in Rotterdam, which was the only match in a hall on hard court. Sinner flexed his muscles in the conditions, sending Tsitsipas (6-4, 6-3) home in no time at all
He capitalized on three of his four break chances and didn’t offer any break opportunities himself in his service games. The 22-year-old’s defensive game is one of the best on tour. The slender Sinner scores with his agility.
This has also helped him win medals and trophies in the giant slalom at Italian championships. But Sinner decided against the snow and opted for a career on clay, grass and hard courts.
Before the match in Rotterdam, the two top 10 players fought a close battle at the Australian Open. Sinner, who usually has such a good grip and also wins many matches thanks to his mental strength, was the stronger player there too, but missed too many opportunities.
He earned 26 break points over five sets, but only capitalized on four of them. At the same time, Tsitsipas was able to capitalize on five of his eleven chances and advance to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open: 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3.
Sinner can look back on a strong 2023. He triumphed in Montpellier, Toronto, Beijing and Vienna. He also reached the semi-finals or finals at many major tournaments.
However, he has yet to win a Grand Slam title. This is his first time at the ATP Finals. In 2021, he was allowed to take the place of Matteo Berrettini from the second group match onwards, who had to pull out due to injury.
He already won the Next Gen Finals in 2019, when he also played at home in front of the crowd in Milan. Tsitsipas, who is three years older, won the year-end tournament for the world’s best tennis players in 2019
The Athenian beat Dominic Thiem in a closely contested final. In the semi-finals, he had to hold his own against a certain Roger Federer (6-3, 6-4).
Tsitsipas qualified for the 2023 ATP Finals through consistency. He celebrated his only tournament success at the 250 in Los Cabos, Mexico. He reached his second final at a major at the Australian Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
On indoor hard courts, he reached the semi-finals three times before the ATP Finals. In Vienna and Paris, Daniil Medvedev and Grigor Dimitrov were the final stops for the world No. 6
My Sinner Tsitsipas tip
The score is 5:2 in favor of Tsitsipas in the direct duel, but like the bookmakers, I see the Italian ahead in his home tournament. In the only duel between the stars on an indoor hard court to date, Sinner had played the Athenian to the wall.
He was also the better player at the Australian Open a month earlier, but missed far too many of his 26 break opportunities. I expect Sinner to be able to build on his recent performances and, above all, play Tsitsipas’ error-prone backhand.
As against all his opponents, he will be able to get into the break regions again and put the Greek under constant pressure. He hasn’t conceded a break chance against Tsitsipas recently. That’s why I’m opting for the following bet at Bet365, one of the top sports betting providers for tennis!
My Sinner Tsitsipas tip: Sinner wins the first set & the match
