Will Sascha now also make it to the last 16?
With two convincing 3-0 wins, Alexander Zverev has punched his ticket to the third round of the French Open, where he will face Frances Tiafoe. The American, who started as number twelve in the seedings, continued his strong year so far at Roland Garros, where he reached the third round for the first time in his career. Nevertheless, there is a lot to suggest that Alexander Zverev’s bet on the German advancing against Frances Tiafoe will be correct.
While Frances Tiafoe does not necessarily favour the clay court, which is also reflected in the fact that he has only won one match here in seven previous appearances at this year’s French Open, Sascha appreciates the comparatively slow surface. Consequently, with Alexander Zverev against Frances Tiafoe, our prediction is for the German all-rounder to win.
Of course, a set win for the in-form American is not out of the question. However, the bottom line is that we do not believe Frances Tiafoe can win more than 18 games in this match in the third round of the 2023 French Open. We therefore recommend the corresponding bet on the number twelve seed winning under 18.5 games.
What is possible overall in this tournament for the German, who is gradually finding his old form again, and who are the favourites to win the 127th
overall?
Alexander Zverev – Statistics & current form
Current ranking in the world rankings: 27
Position in the seedings: 22
The 26-year-old German Alexander Zverev does have positive records in the other Grand Slam tournaments and once reached the final at the US Open in 2020. But nowhere is his win ratio as high as at Roland Garros, where he now stands at 25 wins from 32 singles (78.1%).
Sascha’s last appearance was two consecutive semifinals at the French Open, where exactly a year ago he twisted his ankle after beating Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals against Rafael Nadal, resulting in a long and persistent injury.
After almost a year back on the Philippe Chatrier
In search of his form, the German has endured an extremely complicated year so far in his comeback after a seven-month break. In the run-up to the French Open, his record for the year stood at 16 wins from 30 singles matches played.
At Roland Garros, however, Alexander Zverev seems to be back to his old self. Most recently, the transfer of his second-round match to Centre Court even brought about an early reconciliation with Court Philippe Chatrier, where he suffered such a serious injury almost exactly a year ago. He swept past Alex Molcan (ATP 86) 3-0 (6-4, 6-2 and 6-1) in less than two hours.
Without dropping a set and without dropping a service game
Sascha thus remained without dropping a set in both matches at the 2023 French Open and can go into the third round match with a correspondingly broad chest. When it comes to Alexander Zverev against Frances Tiafoe, the odds are clearly in favour of the former world number two because the Hamburg native has won six of the seven singles matches against the American so far.
In addition to his aggressive baseline play, the German’s strong serve was once again an absolute weapon in the second round. Zverev not only scored in 77% with his first serve, but also brought it to an outstanding rate of 66% won points with the second serve. He also skilfully fended off all eight of his opponents’ break points.
Frances Tiafoe – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 12
Position in the seedings: 12
The game of the 25-year-old American Frances Tiafoe lives very much on the serve. Accordingly, the man from Hyattsville, Maryland, is anything but adept on clay courts. Because serves on this surface lose so much speed on impact, the return game is much more important here.
In the 2023 season, however, Frances Tiafoe is stronger than ever on clay. Right at the start of the clay season, he secured victory at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston in April.
First time in the third round of the French Open
It was only the second singles title the 25-year-old had won in his now ten years on the ATP Tour. The American also started confidently in the main draw of the French Open for the eighth time, where he had failed to reach the first round six times in his previous seven appearances and only managed to record his very first victory in 2022.
This year, Frances Tiafoe reached the third round of Roland Garros for the first time. His record at the only Grand Slam tournament on clay still reads disastrous, with three wins from ten singles matches. Nevertheless, he has improved his game.
Won 23 of 31 singles matches in 2023
With a record of 23 wins from 31 singles matches and the tournament win in Houston, the year 2023 has gone much better for the American than for his German opponent. Nevertheless, there is not much to suggest that Alexander Zverev’s bet on the twelfth-ranked player in the world advancing will work out against Frances Tiafoe.
In the second round, when he defeated Aslan Karatsev (ATP 62) 3-1, it became clear that Frances Tiafoe needs to improve his returns even more in order to be more successful on clay. He scored on his opponent’s serve in just 39% of all cases. That is clearly not enough to pose any lasting problems for the German all-rounder.
Alexander Zverev – Frances Tiafoe Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 6:1
The two athletes have faced each other seven times so far and in six of the seven cases Alexander Zverev prevailed over Frances Tiafoe in the end. The last time the German celebrated a 2-0 win over the American was in the final of the Vienna Open 2021 on indoor hard court. However, the two players will now meet for the first time on clay court.
Alexander Zverev – Frances Tiafoe Tip
With Alexander Zverev against Frances Tiafoe, our prediction goes for the German to progress, who is finding his old form again at Roland Garros and has advanced to the third round in commanding fashion with two very convincing 3-0 wins. His American opponent is certainly in good form, but is particularly vulnerable on clay. The head-to-head record of 6:1, which does not include a single match on clay, shows that Sascha has usually had a good hand for Tiafoe so far.
If the German can once again play as well on court as he did in the previous two rounds, it will be difficult for the American to win too many games. Accordingly, there is a lot of value in betting that Tiafoe will win a maximum of 18 games.
