Wimbledon, 1st Round, Wednesday, 05.07.2023
Wimbledon was supposed to start for Alexander Zverev on Tuesday. However, due to rain, the match was postponed to Wednesday. Gijs Brouwer will challenge him in the first round. The 153rd ranked player in the world has successfully fought his way through the qualifying.
Can he be a threat to the reigning Olympic champion? In my Zverev Brouwer tip, I give an overview of the best odds on the match.
Zverev’s debut on grass in 2023 was impressive. After the French Open, he first cured his thigh strain and only played a preparatory tournament in the direction of Wimbledon.
At the popular 500 tournament in Halle, he managed a cold start. Without losing a set against Dominic Thiem (6-3, 6-4), Denis Shapovalov (6-2, 6-4) and Nicolas Jarry (7-5, 6-3), he reached the semi-finals.
His namesake Alexander Bublik (6-3, 7-5) then kept the upper hand against the German. He went on to win the tournament as well.
He has never been able to beat the Kazakh on the fast surfaces. Only in Monaco in the spring did he manage a win against the 26-year-old with a strong serve.
After a good debut on the green and an event organised by his “Alexander Zverev Foundation”, he goes into the first round of Wimbledon in a positive mood.
Zverev’s (1.08 – Bet365) opponent in round one is Gijs Brouwer (8.00). He started the grass-court season with three opening defeats, but followed it up with three wins in Wimbledon qualifying.
The Dutchman won all three matches outright and without a tiebreak. The 1.91-metre man served strongly. In particular, his yield after the second service was impressive.
He will take this self-confidence into the first round. Zverev should be warned. In the last two qualifying rounds, he only allowed four break chances.
At first, it did not look as if Brouwer would qualify for Wimbledon. After all, he brought a losing streak of nine matches with him to London.
His only clay court victories came at the 250 tournament in Houston in April. This was followed by five opening defeats. Brouwer definitely feels more comfortable on fast surfaces.
He discovered grass for himself in 2022. In Surbiton, he forced Andy Murray into two tiebreaks, which he only narrowly lost. In Ilkley, he even managed to reach the quarter-finals.
In the 2023 qualifiers, none of his competitors were among the top 100 in the world. A completely different calibre awaits Zverev in the main draw.
The German should give Brouwer a tough task with his strong return game and Zverev himself serves dangerously.
I think it’s very likely that Zverev will get a few breaks. There hasn’t been a tiebreak in his matches lately. Seven times in a row no set ended with a 7-6.
Therefore, Bet365’s 2.20 for under 0.5 tiebreaks on Wednesday is suitable odds. As already mentioned, Brouwer also failed to win a tiebreak in his first three Wimbledon matches.
Betano offers 1.75 for the German’s smooth 3-0 success. Zverev has won four of his five first-round matches at Wimbledon without dropping a set.
Incidentally, Zverev and Brouwer will meet for the first time on Wednesday. Another debut for Brouwer is his participation in Wimbledon. Besides the US Open, it is the second Grand Slam tournament in which he will serve.
In 2022, he already took part in the US Open and even managed to reach the second round in his major debut after defeating Adrian Mannarino. Lorenzo Musetti was then the final stop.
My Zverev Brouwer Tip
Zverev has been in good form in Halle and has taken it easy in the week leading up to Wimbledon. In Brouwer, he will meet an opponent who has made an impressive comeback after a heavy losing streak.
The three qualifying victories give him confidence for his Wimbledon debut. He already reached the second round in his first major. However, it is clear that Zverev is playing at a completely different level than his qualifying opponents.
I expect Zverev to show off his return game, as he did in almost all his previous matches, and once again avoid the tiebreaks.
My Zverev Brouwer tip: Under 0.5 tiebreaks
