ATP Tournament in Stuttgart, Quarter Finals, Friday, 10.06.2022
The best player of the tournament meets one of the absolute crowd favourites? The fans in Stuttgart on Friday will be able to cope with the fact that only one of the Germans made it to the quarter-finals!
The big tournament favourite wants the title, but now has to deal with a never-tired veteran who is in a really good mood. In my Tsitsipas Murray tip, I reveal why the Scot should not be underestimated by anyone!
Will Stefanos Tsitsipas manage a start-finish victory? The world number five, who lost one place to Rafael Nadal, is top seed in Stuttgart and wants to get in shape before Wimbledon.
After his defeat in the final of the Italian Open against Novak Djokovic, Tsitsipas made an unacceptable appearance at the French Open. He was already eliminated in the round of 16, when he was outplayed in four sets by shooting star Holger Rune.
Before that, he just managed to avoid an even earlier elimination against Lorenzo Musetti and Zdenek Kolar, a Czech qualifier. In Stuttgart, Tsitsipas is playing for the first time and is immediately the top favourite.
He started the tournament, including a short rain break, in two sets, but some would have expected a clearer result. He won 6-3, 6-4 against Dominic Stricker.
Although only 48% of his first serve was successful, he won 89% of the points. There is no question that the Greek will have to improve considerably when his opponents become stronger.
He still has weak games against opponents he should be able to control. He has only had one duel with Andy Murray, but it was in New York almost a year ago that tempers really flared.
In the first round of the US Open, the match ended with a 2-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win for Tsitsipas, and Murray, who was not ranked in the world’s top 100 at the time, almost caused a sensation.
Although the Scotsman, who has been plagued by injuries, has by no means become younger since then, his form has risen! He has improved enormously in the world rankings, currently occupying 68th place.
On average, Tsitsipas is ahead by 1.45 to 2.60, a blink of an eye in tennis. Andy Murray may no longer be able to attack the world’s best in the rankings, but he can still beat them on top days.
At the age of 35, Murray will make his debut in Stuttgart in 2022, and the crowd there will support him loudly. In the first round, he beat Christopher O’Connell 6-4, 6-3 and stayed true to the straight-set result.
6-3, 7-6 against Alexander Bublik, Murray has not been as strong as in these months for a long time. Five of his opponent’s seven break chances were fended off, while he himself made the most of three of the five opportunities.
After missing the clash against Novak Djokovic due to food poisoning before missing the French Open, the veteran has bounced back impressively and is looking to get straight back into the top four after reaching the semi-finals of the Surbiton Trophy.
My Tsitsipas Murray Tip
Can Andy Murray push beyond his limits again in Stuttgart? In my analyses, the 35-year-old is getting stronger and stronger, and in the meantime he is also putting the fear of God into the top stars again.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the best player at the Boss Open, is not in the best form at the moment. Of course, he is the favourite against Murray, but in view of the last few weeks I think the Scot can really upset him. So my tip is:
Over 22,5 Games
