Will Stef not miss a beat against the veteran?
A thoroughly interesting pairing has emerged for the second round of the Miami Open 2023 when perennial favourite Richard Gasquet clashes with Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek has won 13 of his 16 singles in 2023, but just failed surprisingly 2-1 to Jordan Thompson in his opening match in Indian Wells the week before last. Still, with Richard Gasquet up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, betting on the number two seed to win is the more coherent choice.
At 36 years of age, the French veteran, who once reached the semifinals here in Miami ten years ago, is no longer the youngest. Nevertheless, the perennial favourite is still ranked 40th in the ATP world rankings and has only won one of his two duels with the Greek, which should definitely be taken into account in Richard Gasquet’s forecast against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Richard Gasquet also started as an unseeded player in round one at the Miami Open 2023 and celebrated a 2-1 opening victory over Christopher O’Connell. This was his eighth win in his 14th singles match of the current year, which has already included a singles title for the 40th-ranked player in the world. In principle, we have every confidence that the Frenchman can stand up to the Greek. In the end, however, there is not much to suggest that the match will go the full distance in the first set.
In this context, there is a lot of value in betting that a maximum of nine games have to be played in the first set before one of the two athletes is in the lead 1:0.
Richard Gasquet – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 40
Position in the seedings: unseeded
The 36-year-old Frenchman Richard Gasquet has not won a single major tournament in his now 21-year career on the ATP Tour. Nevertheless, the veteran has celebrated plenty of successes.
In addition to his bronze medal in men’s doubles at the 2012 Olympic Games, Richard Gasquet also secured a Grand Slam title in mixed doubles at the 2004 French Open with his partner Tatiana Golovin.
In January, Gasquet won his 16th singles title on the ATP Tour
In addition, he has won 16 singles titles on the ATP Tour. In the three major finals he has reached, he did not manage to win the tournament. However, the Frenchman proved in January 2023 that he is far from being old-fashioned when he won the Auckland Open in New Zealand somewhat surprisingly.
In total, the 40th-ranked player in the world has eight singles victories from 14 matches this year, although in Indian Wells, after his opening victory over Borna Gojo (ATP 121), he suffered a 1-2 defeat against Jannik Sinner (ATP 13) in the second round.
Win rate of 23.6% against reigning top-10 players
The betting odds are also clearly against the man from Béziers in Richard Gasquet’s match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has not only already won one of his two singles duels with the Greek, but has also won a total of 35 of his 148 duels with reigning Top 10 players – odds of 23.6%.
In 2023, the Frenchman already recorded victories over Pablo Carreno Busta (ATP 16), Cameron Norrie (ATP 12) and the former runner-up David Goffin (ATP 53). The 36-year-old, who once reached the semi-finals here in Miami ten years ago, will definitely have to be taken seriously.
Stefanos Tsitsipas – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 3
Position in the seedings: 2
The 24-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas started very well into 2023, but after losing the final of the French Open 2021, he also missed his chance for a Grand Slam title in the final of the Australian Open 2023. In the end, he was beaten 3-0 by Novak Djokovic.
However, Stef has already won three Major titles. Apart from the somewhat surprising overall victory at the 2019 ATP Finals, these were the two tournament victories at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he successfully defended the 2021 title.
Won 13 of the 16 singles matches in 2023
In Miami, the world number three reached the quarter-finals in 2021. Overall, however, he is only on seven wins from eleven singles at the major tennis tournament in the Sunshine State. Nevertheless, Richard Gasquet’s betting on his entry into the third round against Stefanos Tsitsipas is definitely under a good star.
The man from Athens won 13 of his 16 singles matches in 2023, although he suffered a setback at the start of the Sunshine Doubles in Indian Wells. In California, Stef suffered an unexpected 1-2 opening defeat against Jordan Thompson (ATP 87).
Tsitsipas won the only hard-court duel against Gasquet straight 2:0
For the Greek, it is now also a matter of saying goodbye to the hard court season as successfully as possible before the clay court season, traditionally the time of year when the world number three is particularly difficult to beat, begins.
After all, the only hard-court singles match Stefanos Tsitsipas has played against Richard Gasquet so far was a straight 2-0 win in Doha in 2018 (6:3 and 6:4). Then, too, exactly nine completed games in the first set were enough to take the lead.
Richard Gasquet – Stefanos Tsitsipas Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Head to head: 1:1
The two athletes have faced each other twice on the ATP Tour so far and both encounters date back to 2018. After Stefanos Tsitsipas first prevailed 2-0 on hard court at the ATP Doha in Qatar, Richard Gasquet returned the favour later in the year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch with a 2-0 win on grass. The record thus stands at a 1-1 draw.
Richard Gasquet – Stefanos Tsitsipas Tip
With Richard Gasquet against Stefanos Tsitsipas, our prediction basically goes in the direction of the Greek, who, however, already somewhat surprisingly fluffed in Indian Wells a fortnight ago. A win for the French perennial favourite is by no means out of the question, especially as the world number 40 has already beaten two reigning Top 20 players in 2023 in Cameron Norrie and Pablo Carreno Busta.
The Greek’s form on the day is likely to play a major role. If Stef has a good day, the match should not take too long. However, if he doesn’t get into the game well, the Frenchman could also punish that. In this context, a lot of value can be gained by betting that a maximum of nine games will be played in the first set.
