Duell of the ex-tournament winners!
The German continues not to show any weakness at the ATP tournament in Vienna. In the two completed matches against the local hero Sebastian Ofner and against the Briton Cameron Norrie he prevailed without losing a set. But now it’s against a much stronger opponent.
The 2021 Olympic champion and also the Russian have already decided the tournament on the Danube in their favor once: The Hamburg player triumphed in 2021 and his opponent a year earlier. Both proved with their respective tournament victories that the tournament in the Vienna Stadthalle suits them. Zverev could also close the gap on Tommy Haas, the only German professional to win the Erste Bank Open twice, with another success.
For what is sure to be a very close match between Alexander Zverev and Andrej Rublev, the forecast includes a tiebreak.
Alexander Zverev – statistics & current form
Zverev wanted to earn as many points as possible for the world rankings during the recent trip to China in order to qualify for the ATP Finals at the end of the year after all. This endeavor initially went as well as possible with the tournament win in Chengdu.
After his triumph on clay in his hometown last July, it was the second ATP title this year. The current world No. 9 then reached the semifinals in Beijing, where once again Medvedev proved too strong. However, reaching the semifinals at the China Open was the end of the road for Zverev, who has so far claimed 21 titles on the ATP Tour within his career.
Zverev has overcome interim dip in form
At the following tournaments in Shanghai and Tokyo, the finalist of the US Open of 2020 had to admit defeat already at the first appearance in each case. Now, however, his form has clearly stabilized.
Most recently, the serve of “Germany’s Sportsman of the Year” from 2021 worked very well: He recorded nine aces in the match against the completely overmatched Briton Norrie and no less than 82 percent of his first serves reached the court.
Zverev also made consistent use of his break points. The Hamburg player converted three out of four break chances. In view of the now very strong opponent, however, betting on three sets in the duel between Alexander Zverev and Andrej Rublev is also worth considering.
Andrey Rublev – statistics & current form
The Russian won a Masters in Monte Carlo for the first time in his career this year! On the other hand, his nerves failed him in a series of other finals. This can be seen from his four defeats in the finals in the current calendar year, the most recent of which came against Poland’s Hurkacz at the Shanghai competition.
Nevertheless, Rublev can be satisfied with the season so far in view of six final appearances with two victories. The former world junior number 1 is also in convincing form at the tournament in Vienna.
After the current hard court season started weakly for him with opening losses in Toronto and Cincinnati, Rublev improved more and more. The Moscow native reached the quarterfinals of the US Open and, after a brief dip in performance with an early exit at the China Open, he recently reached the final of the Masters in Shanghai.
Russian hasn’t lost a set in Vienna yet either
In the current competition in Vienna, the current number 5 in the world rankings is, on top of that, like Zverev, still without a set loss and did not concede a break in the latest success against the Italian Grinaldi. Nevertheless, in the match between Zverev and Rublev, the prediction of a victory for the German in three sets seems additionally profitable.
In his previous appearances, the Hanseatic player seemed to be just that bit stronger. This can be seen from the fact that he has only lost eleven games in the course of the tournament, while his opponent has already had to surrender 18 games against comparably difficult opponents.
Alexander Zverev – Andrey Rublev Direct comparison / H2H-balance
The last time the two pros faced each other on clay was in Bastad, Sweden, in July this year. The Russian won the quarterfinal 2-0 and then he also claimed his last ATP Tour title so far at this tournament.
Rublev also won the previous match against Zverev in March 2023. Here he also needed only two sets on hard court in the semifinals of the tournament in Dubai.
Alexander Zverev – Andrey Rublev Tip
No set loss, no break – Zverev presents himself very strong in Vienna, but also the upcoming opponent has marched through the ATP tournament in Vienna so far mostly sovereign. Furthermore, the Russian has not been in the German’s favor lately.
While he was able to win the first four duels against him, the balance from his point of view in retrospect of the past encounters is clearly less good with three defeats and only one further success. For the duel of Alexander Zverev against Andrej Rublev, the forecast includes a tiebreak.
The player from Hamburg is currently a bit stronger than his opponent, but a close match in the Vienna Stadthalle is still on the cards. Against this background, it is to be expected that at least one set decision in the German-Russian duel will only be made in the tiebreak.
