ATP Masters in Cincinnati, 1st Round, Tuesday, 15.08.2023
The US Open is approaching in leaps and bounds! The world’s tennis elite is already in the USA, because here in Cincinnati another big Masters is taking place within a few days, which actually only the really big ones win!
Of course, Germany is also expecting good results, but is our reigning Olympic champion really strong enough? After all, he is the favourite at Betway in his first round.
I’m frankly a little less optimistic, but expect to see an incredibly close affair on Tuesday. Why exactly am I in favour of three sets? I’ll reveal that now in my Zverev Dimitrov tip!
First the victory in Hamburg combined with great emotions, then the deep fall in Toronto! Alexander Zverev has been through a rollercoaster of emotions in the last few weeks, which shows him first and foremost: there is simply no consistency here yet.
Even after his triumph on the Elbe, some experts urged caution and complained: “As good as the title win was, the really strong opponents were simply not there.
A little later, Zverev set off on his journey to Toronto, wanting to show at the Masters that he is at least one of the world’s elite. A plan that unfortunately did not work out at all.
He had won 7-6, 6-4 against Tallon Griekspoor, but Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina, who is actually a specialist on clay, really showed him his limits afterwards.
1-6, 2-6, what an embarrassment! Zverev didn’t have a single break opportunity, conceded all four of his opponent’s, values such as 56% successful first serves, 55% points won on the first and 25% on the second service, all of which showed how clearly inferior he really was.
So now it’s on to Cincinnati, and the Hamburg native knows: I’ve played my best tennis here before! Two years ago, at his most recent participation, he stormed to the title here.
Whether it was Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas or Andrey Rublev, he proved that he is or was absolutely world class. But beware: he has also won the Canadian Masters once, yet he failed dramatically a few days ago.
Perhaps the direct comparison against Grigor Dimitrov, who will be his opponent on Tuesday, will help him. In 2014, when the German was not even of age, he lost the first match.
From then on, however, Dimitrov became one of his favourite opponents and Zverev won four times. Twice he won narrowly, twice clearly, and most recently he won 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 at the French Open.
It is interesting to note that the clear victories took place on clay, which is clearly the surface the Bulgarian likes least. Our betting providers expect a close match on Tuesday, with average odds of 1.65 to 2.20.
Dimitrov, exactly two places behind Zverev in the world rankings, should not mind that he is the slight underdog. The 32-year-old shares one success with his German rival, namely that he too has already triumphed in Cincinnati.
Six years ago he stood at the top here, but since then he has never made it past the last 16. He also failed to show a positive side in 2022, losing to Denis Shapovalov right at the start.
What about the Bulgarian’s form? After his elimination in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, he travelled to Washington and was eliminated in the round of the best four against Daniel Evans.
He then cancelled the tournament in Toronto and should now be well rested to be able to present his best form in Cincinnati.
Dimitrov reached just one semi-final this year in the first half of the season on hard court, so he will have to stretch himself to show in the autumn that he can serve strongly not only on grass, his favourite surface.
My Zverev Dimitrov Tip
It hasn’t been an easy few days for Alexander Zverev as he was initially at a loss after his Toronto dismantling. It remains the case in 2023 that he hardly ever wins against opponents who are roughly on a par with him.
It’s unfavourable that a really tough opponent is waiting here in Cincinnati at the beginning of the Masters. The only positive thing about Grigor Dimitrov is that he is one of Zverev’s favourite opponents. Since I neither can nor want to commit myself, I believe in a close match and predict:
We see three sets!
