ATP Tournament in Hamburg, Final, Sunday, 30.07.2023
In his home country he plays totally free. Alexander Zverev is in the final in Hamburg on Sunday. On the way there, he didn’t drop a set, didn’t even need a tiebreak.
Before his first triumph at the Rothenbaum in Hamburg, he still has to beat Laslo Djere, whom he should by no means underestimate. In my Zverev Djere tip, I give you a prediction.
He is on the verge of fulfilling one of his dreams. Alexander Zverev wants to finally win the title in his sixth appearance in Hamburg.
“It was extremely fun, the atmosphere was incredible. It was the best atmosphere I have witnessed in Germany,” the German said happily after his success against Arthur Fils in the semi-finals.
The reigning Olympic champion let himself be carried by the support of the fans. He made the first matches look like practice matches. Alex Molcan (6-0, 6-3), Maximilian Marterer (6-3, 7-5), Luca Van Assche (6-3, 6-4) and Fils (6-2, 6-4) had no chance.
18 Zverev created break chances in the last three rounds alone, only allowing seven opportunities even on his own service. Zverev is much more confident than he was last time out in Bastad, Sweden.
After this strong week, it is no surprise that Zverev (1.22) is the clear favourite against Laslo Djere (4.33) in the final on Sunday. But the German is warned: “I expect the toughest match of the week.”
While 1.22 is merely good odds for a combined win on Sunday, a 1.72 is already waiting at Bet365 for an outright 2-0 victory for the Hamburg native.
Without losing a set, he has already beaten Djere in the first two duels. In 2021 they played against each other. In Acapulco (hard court), the match ended 6-4, 6-3.
Three months later, the finalists from Hamburg met again at the French Open (6-2, 7-5, 6-2). In the total of five sets played, he dominated the Serb with 13 service games taken.
However, Djere’s current form is strong. In particular, his success against Lorenzo Musetti surprised the competition. The final score was 7-5, 6-3 against the Italian, who is currently still ahead of Zverev in the world rankings.
6-3, 6-2 was the final score after the semi-final against Zhizhen Zhang, who had previously eliminated two German professionals, Daniel Altmaier and Yannick Hanfmann, from the tournament.
Zverev definitely needs his best return game for his first triumph in Hamburg. Because Djere served strongly in the last rounds. Zhang did not have a single break chance, Musetti at least one.
If he can continue this performance and Zverev also remains strong in his service games, a tiebreak in the match is not unlikely. Bet365 offers odds of 2.75. Alternatively, a bet on over 20.5 games would also be possible at Bet-at-home (1.66 odds).
My Zverev Djere tip
Zverev is playing at a high tennis level in Hamburg and is understandably the clear favourite to win the title in his home country after his quick run.
He should not underestimate Djere. He has only allowed one break chance in his last two matches and has only lost one set in the tournament. With Zverev, however, he now has one of the strongest clay court opponents in the world in front of him.
In the two direct duels in 2021, he clearly lost out to Zverev twice and could not even force the German into a tiebreak. I expect a similar match this year.
My Zverev Djere tip: 2:0 win for Zverev
