ATP Masters in Monte Carlo, 2nd round, Tuesday, 08.04.2025, 2:00 pm
Alexander Zverev remains in crisis! Germany’s best tennis player has big plans for the Monte Carlo Masters, because the last major tournaments have been anything but successful for him.
His first opponent is pretty tough, having won the most recent head-to-head. So in my Zverev Berrettini tip, I’ll tell you why I’m betting on a close game and therefore going for a tiebreak bet.
As nice as the Australian Open final was, things have been going downhill since then. Alexander Zverev is still ranked number 2 in the world, but he has not been pleased with his recent performances.
He reached the quarterfinals in Rio, but it didn’t get much better than that. In Indian Wells, he lost right at the start to Tallon Griekspoor. He didn’t lose in Miami, but he still didn’t play well.
He was still able to beat Jacob Fearnley, a qualifier, and Jordan Thompson with a closer 7-5, 6-4. However, the end of the line was Arthur Fils, where Zverev lost 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
The Hamburg-born player only suffered this defeat at the end of March, so he shouldn’t have forgotten it yet. The Monte Carlo Masters is not one of his favorite tournaments.
He has never reached the final here, and only made it to the last four once in 2018 and 2022. Last year, he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16. Has Zverev ever failed to make it past the first round before?
In fact, no, even in his debut in 2016, there was only one victory. But now it so happens that he has been drawn directly against Matteo Berrettini. When looking at the history, we have to consider something, of course.
The last time they met was in 2023, and the penultimate duel was in 2021. Why am I mentioning this? Quite simply because Berrettini was one of the best at the time and the absolute world top is currently further away.
At Wimbledon almost two years ago, Matteo Berrettini won 6-3, 7-6, 7-6. The last three direct duels had offered four tiebreaks, as both stars usually show great strength in attack.
Our bookmakers with PayPal function see Zverev in the lead, but the average odds are 1.55 to 2.35 – and this lead is really not that generous.
Matteo Berrettini is currently ranked 34th in the world and has not made the worst impression this year. He reached the quarterfinals in Qatar and Dubai. In Indian Wells, he was stopped a little earlier, losing twice in a row to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
In Miami, he was then stopped again in the round of the best eight. The Italian surprised with a victory against Alex de Minaur, but the narrow defeat against Taylor Fritz (5-7, 7-6, 5-7) was really no reason for criticism.
17 aces, no double fault, the 28-year-old did not play a bad game. He has already clinched his first victory in Monte Carlo, beating Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-4.
He still hasn’t got everything right, for example the Argentine was given seven break chances (he took three) on his serve. Berrettini will definitely have to improve against Alexander Zverev if he wants to reach the popular quarter-finals again.
My Zverev Berrettini tip
Will Alexander Zverev fail again at a very early stage in a major tournament? His last appearances at the Masters were anything but successful, with Arthur Fils and Tallon Griekspoor inflicting painful defeats on him.
Matteo Berrettini is by no means an opponent who would be easier to play than these two. The Roman has made a positive impression on several occasions in recent weeks, and he also won the last duel against Zverev in 2023. Since this is a match between two serving giants, I’m betting on a close match and predicting:
At least one tiebreak is possible!
