Zhizhen Zhang - Stefanos Tsitsipas predictions and free betting tips [31/05/2024]

Well, Stefanos Tsitsipas is once again striving to be a serious contender for a Grand Slam title. The Greek tennis player has yet to clinch the most prestigious trophy in the ATP Tour. In the third round of Roland Garros, Stefanos will face Zhizhen Zhang, who is steadily becoming a formidable player capable of reaching significant heights according to his abilities.

Zhizhen Zhang

Zhang has some powerful tournament performances, although there are slumps when the Chinese player can lose to anyone. On clay, Zhizhen generally performs well in 'main' tournaments, but he can hold his own on hard courts as well. By the way, Zhang has won half of his titles on hard surfaces, which is typical for Asian tennis.

Last year, Zhang had a solid run in two clay tournaments: he played well in the Madrid Masters (1000), reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Aslan Karatsev, and made it to the semi-finals in Hamburg, where he was defeated by Laslo Djere. Besides these minor successes, he also achieved a notable victory at the Asian Games, held on an indoor hard court, where Zhang triumphed, taking the gold medal.

This season, Zhang's performance has been average. However, he managed to repeat his record from last year's Madrid Masters by reaching the quarter-finals at the Rome Masters, but he couldn't progress further.

At Roland Garros, Zhizhen had good matches against Alexander Vukic and Lorenzo Sonego. Against the Australian, it was a battle of serves, while against the Italian, Zhang had to play in a slightly different style. Nevertheless, the Chinese player won almost without problems, although he did drop a set.

In the match against Tsitsipas, Zhang will have opportunities to play an attacking game, and his serve will determine if he is ready to defeat a strong opponent. The Chinese player executes rallies competently, so the game might not be as straightforward as the pundits believe.

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Sometimes Stefanos seems unsure of how to play in a Grand Slam to have a chance of winning one, such as Roland Garros, where he reached the final in 2021.

Tsitsipas often falls short in class compared to many top opponents. Nonetheless, there have been tournaments where he managed to defeat the likes of Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and other ATP ranking leaders.

Last year, Tsitsipas reached the decisive battle for the trophy in Melbourne, where he was outplayed by Novak Djokovic. On clay, the Greek showcased superb gameplay in all major tournaments, although he lost to exceptionally strong competitors or those well-prepared for a specific event, such as Jan-Lennard Struff, who had an excellent run at the Madrid Masters. However, Tsitsipas did win a hard court title in Los Cabos, which is good, but considering how many tournaments he didn’t finish to a triumphant end, a title at ATP 250 is considered minor.

This season, Tsitsipas failed to defend his title in Los Cabos and reached the final match in Barcelona, where he lost to Casper Ruud. However, before that, Stefanos claimed the title in Monaco for the third time in his career, defeating Ruud in the key match, who then prepared well for the rematch in Barcelona.

At Roland Garros, the Greek tennis player outplayed Marton Fucsovics on class, although Tsitsipas had an average match. He also lost a set to Daniel Altmaier but ultimately won the match.

Against the Chinese player Zhizhen Zhang, Tsitsipas will face many challenges, especially in terms of technique, because Tsitsipas plays a wide game, while his opponent will try to play through half-court and focus on specific shots, like cross-court lines. I am not sure if Stefanos will have the advantage in this match, and tactically, Zhang should be more competent than Tsitsipas.

Prediction for the match: Zhizhen Zhang - Stefanos Tsitsipas

I will be placing my bet on the Chinese player, despite the odds being too good. Tsitsipas's game is often overrated, and I frequently evaluate the stylistic and technical capabilities of the players and see discrepancies. Therefore, Zhizhen is my favourite for this match.