Will Sascha keep his cool in the second round?
Without much trouble, Alexander Zverev beat Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 3-0 in his opening match of the French Open 2022. For the fifth time in a row, the German was able to avoid a first-round exit at the only Grand Slam tournament that is played on clay. Only a year ago, Sascha even made it to the semi-finals of Roland Garros.
The German will not be facing a heavyweight in the second round either. The third-ranked player in the world only won 2-0 against the Argentinian challenger a fortnight ago in Rome, so the odds are heavily in favour of the German in the run-up to the match between Alexander Zverev and Sebastián Báez.
At the moment, we strongly expect Alexander Zverev to keep his head down in this second round match. However, the best value for Alexander Zverev against Sebastián Báez is a bet on more than 0.5 tiebreaks.
Already at the Rome Masters a fortnight ago, the Argentine was able to entangle the world number three in a tiebreak in the first set. Considering that Sascha lives on his serve and does not have the best returns, the supposed underdog can be expected to win another tiebreak in a match over three sets.
Alexander Zverev – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 3
Position in the seedings: 3
The 25-year-old German Alexander Zverev crowned himself world champion once again at the end of the 2021 season with his second overall victory at the ATP Finals.
Sascha has already won a total of 19 singles titles on the ATP Tour – including eight Major titles. Only the overall victory at a Grand Slam tournament has so far eluded the Hamburg native.
Still without a single title in 2022
A year ago at Roland Garros, the all-rounder, who performs well on all surfaces, reached the semifinals.
If he can go one step further this year, he can already achieve his last two major career goals here in France.
With the overall victory, Alexander Zverev would not only be crowned Grand Slam champion, but he could also climb to the top of the ATP world rankings. So far, however, the German has failed to win another title in two reached finals in the 2022 calendar year.
No break point allowed in opening match
However, the Hamburg player’s annual record reads as strong as ever with 25 wins from 34 singles matches, whereby his biggest weapon is undoubtedly his serve. The 25-year-old underlined this once again in the first round at Roland Garros, where he now has 19 wins from 25 matches.
Against Sebastian Ofner, Sascha did not allow a single break point against him and thus had to land just four breaks to celebrate a smooth 3:0 opening victory. If the service sits again, the next clear victory beckons.
Sebastián Báez – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 36
Position in the seedings: unseeded
The 21-year-old Argentine Sebastián Báez is clearly on the rise in 2022. After the man from Buenos Aires did not make it into the main draw at a single major tournament in 2021, he advanced to become a perennial favourite in 2022.
So far, Báez has only missed the Madrid Open, but has played in the other four Masters tournaments as well as the Australian Open 2022, where he even won his opening match against Albert Ramos Vinolas 3-2 in a thrilling match.
Overall win in Estoril and yearly record of 19:13
The Argentine again managed to win his opening match, making it through the first round in one piece in his second Grand Slam tournament. He beat Serb Dusan Lajovic 3:1 on Monday. It was his 19th singles victory in the 2022 calendar year (13 defeats).
At the same time, Sebastián Báez is even ahead of his current opponent in winning the tournament in the 2022 season. At the beginning of May, the 21-year-old triumphed on clay in Estoril and secured the first singles title of his career on the ATP Tour after losing the title in Chile in February.
Still without a win against Top 10 players
Never the less, Alexander Zverev’s betting on the upstart from Buenos Aires being able to stand up to the world number three against Sebastián Báez is not under the best of omens. After all, in two matches against a top-10 player, the Argentinean has so far come up empty.
However, if Báez keeps his focus – he converted five of his six break points in the opening match, which ultimately made the difference – he could possibly force another tiebreak.
Alexander Zverev – Sebastián Báez Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 1:0
Both athletes faced each other just a fortnight ago in the second round of the Rome Masters. Alexander Zverev eventually prevailed 2-0 (7:6 and 6:3)
Alexander Zverev – Sebastián Báez Tip
The prediction for Alexander Zverev against Sebastián Báez clearly goes in the direction of the world number three, who is clearly ahead in practically all relevant areas and performance data. The German also brings with him the cumulative experience of 19 singles titles and 26 appearances in Grand Slam tournaments, while his Argentine opponent has never made it past the second round of a major tournament.
Everything points to Sascha not letting anything go to waste in this match. After all, the clay court suits the all-rounder extremely well. Sascha won 19 of the 25 singles played at Roland Garros, which gives him his personal highest win rate of all four Grand Slam tournaments at the French Open – 76%. Nevertheless, the Argentinean can be expected to force the German into a tiebreak again. In the opening match, Sascha only managed four breaks.
