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Australian Open 2022, 3rd Round, Friday, 21.01.2022
For years, German tennis fans have been waiting for a Grand Slam victory. Will it finally happen at the Australian Open in 2022? The experts agree that the chances have rarely been better than now! And not only because Novak Djokovic is not competing.
Of course, none other than Alexander Zverev could triumph, and he set off for Melbourne a few weeks ago with the promise of winning the title. He is also the heavy favourite in his 3rd round match.
His opponent didn’t even make it into the top 100 of the rankings, but does anyone perhaps remember the US Open 2019, where he made it damn difficult for him? In my Zverev Albot tip, I clarify whether the underdog actually has a chance.
Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, those are the names of the two top favourites to triumph at the Australian Open. The German has had one hand on the trophy so many times in recent years before his luck ran out.
After his brutal year in 2021, almost everyone agrees: it’s due, the first win at a major. In the past, Zverev was known to be unfocused at the start of a tournament, but not at these AO.
He started with a 7-6, 6-1, 7-6 against Daniel Altmaier and left himself some breathing space. When he beat John Millman 6-4, 6-4 6-0, he already showed a first improvement. He is still not playing his best tennis, but nevertheless wins confidently.
He made 13 double faults in the first two matches, and that is still possible. Nevertheless, Zverev serves as if the short winter break had never happened. He wants to crown his successes of 2021 this year.
He has only had to deal with his upcoming opponent, Radu Albot, once before, but he narrowly avoided embarrassment here. At the 2019 US Open, he was already leading 2-0 when he made things unnecessarily tense and only won 3-2 in the end.
The bookmakers, however, do not expect a similar match. The odds on a victory by Alexander Zverev are only slightly above 1.01 at the sports betting providers – anything other than a victory by the German would be a sensation.
His opponent from the Republic of Moldova knows, of course, that absolutely no one is counting on him. While Zverev won titles at the end of 2021 and reached the finals, Albot competed in Challengers against manageable competition.
He had to play three tough qualifying duels in Melbourne before reaching the main draw. After dropping a set, he beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in Round 1.
Smoothly he got through round 2, namely with a 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 against Aleksandar Vukic. How dangerous can the 1.75m short Albot really be to Alexander Zverev (1.96m)? The Olympic champion knows very well that he underestimated him once before two and a half years ago!
My Zverev Albot Tip
Do people really trust Radu Albot to stop Alexander Zverev’s winning streak? Not a few consider the German to be the best and most consistent player in the world at the moment. Even against Millmann and the crowd, he didn’t show any weaknesses.
Since he is so clearly favoured that even 3:0 brings too low odds, it’s on to the matches. In his first two matches, Zverev had one set each in which he really humiliated his opponents. Therefore, I now opt for the following tip:
It will be less than 30.5 games!
