Wimbledon 2023, 1st round, Tuesday, 04.07.2023
An opening bombshell! Dominic Thiem, just under the top 100 in the world, already suspected that he would be drawn against a strong man in the 1st round of Wimbledon. But did he expect this category?
He will be facing the number 5 in the world, someone against whom he has a 5:4 lead in direct comparisons. The two have often gone toe-to-toe, but at the moment it is of course clear that the favourite at Bet365 is representing the Greek colours.
In my Thiem Tsitsipas tip, I’ll take a close look at how the two players are doing and tell you why I think the underdog can snatch a set here!
He’s been one of the best players in the world for years, seen as the great future. But why isn’t he finally breaking the knot on the big stage? Stefanos Tsitsipas wants to finally fulfil his dream of winning the Grand Slam title.
It’s just a shame that Wimbledon is certainly not his favourite tournament in this range. A round of 16 finish from 2018 stands for the best result, and the Greek cannot and will not be satisfied with that.
At the last French Open, Tsitsipas was eliminated by Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16, so he had enough time to get into shape on the faster surface.
Stuttgart, Halle and Mallorca – he suffered a trio of disappointments. First he failed 6-7, 6-2, 5-7 to Richard Gasquet, then he struggled to a narrow win over Gregoire Barrere, only to lose 6-7, 5-6 to Nicolas Jarry.
Things were not to get any better against Yannick Hanfmann on the sunny island. 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, the form just didn’t want to come. The results on grass were very close, but unfortunately mostly ended in favour of the opponent.
Speaking of opponents, Dominic Thiem knows Stefanos Tsitsipas very well. A few months ago in Madrid, the Greek won 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, reducing his record to 4-5, but the lost direct comparison should not bother him much.
Between 2018 and 2020, eight of the nine matches took place, but since this happened before Thiem’s serious injury, the significance is low. Also because the two have never actually met on grass!
For our betting providers, it is nevertheless clear who is likely to come out on top on Tuesday, with the odds pointing to Tsitsipas with an average of 1.15 to 5.00. Of course, this is no surprise based on the rankings alone.
Dominic Thiem is back in the top 100, but is not really making any headway here. After the French Open ended early after a very bitter 3-6, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4, 2-6 against Pedro Cachin, the Austrian stayed on clay for the time being.
He only managed one success at the Challengers in Heilbronn and Perugia. Without much self-confidence, the Viennese-born player travelled to Halle, where he faced Alexander Zverev.
3-6, 4-6, Thiem didn’t really have much to report here. However, this should not play a role in the coming days, although a slight cold has slowed the Austrian down recently. Will we see that on the court on Tuesday?
Thiem hasn’t played at Wimbledon since 2019, so the anticipation is great. Of course, he knows the qualities in Stefanos Tsitsipas and can certainly remember that he had to retire injured in Round 1 during his most recent appearance here in London.
My Thiem Tsitsipas Tip
Stefanos Tsitsipas has been attracting attention in recent weeks, but not on the court. He talked more about his relationship with tennis colleague Paula Badosa, but his performances on court remained mixed.
The fast grass does not suit him at all yet. Although Dominic Thiem is not in top form and has also been plagued by a cold recently, the Austrian is eager to make his first appearance at Wimbledon since 2019.
Since Tsitsipas just doesn’t seem consistent enough to me and Thiem can fight hard, which he did 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 against the Greek a few months ago, I trust him to strike once in the best-of-five and therefore say:
Thiem wins a set against Tsitsipas!
