Will Zverev pass his second test after his four-week break?
After a break of almost four weeks, Zverev is back on tour. In the absence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the 28-year-old is the top seed at the Masters tournament in Toronto. We provide you with all the information you need for a Zverev vs. Arnaldi tip for his third-round match against Matteo Arnaldi.
As a seven-time Masters champion, we are giving the Hamburg native the favorite’s role in our Zverev vs. Arnaldi prediction. The tax-free bookmakers are taking a similar approach in their distribution of the Zverev – Arnaldi betting odds. However, the Italian challenger has fond memories of the tournament in Canada.
Alexander Zverev – Statistics & current form
The demands of the ATP Tour are enormous, especially for players with a workload like Alexander Zverev’s. Professionals often have to push themselves to the limits of their endurance—and sometimes beyond. Following his surprise first-round exit at Wimbledon, the world number three decided to take a break from tournaments and did not play an official match for four weeks.
However, the seven-time Masters champion has not been idle during this time. The German trained at Rafael Nadal’s academy and regained his confidence. Toni Nadal was certainly able to give him a few tips for his game.
Back on tour, the former Olympic champion will start his preparations for the last Grand Slam of the year (US Open) in Toronto. In 2017, the 24-time ATP title winner triumphed at the National Bank Open. No wonder the Hamburg native is the clear favorite in the Zverev – Arnaldi odds.
Zverev can rely on his serve in the tiebreak
There is hardly a player in the world who can match Alexander Zverev’s serving skills. Over the past 52 weeks, the German has had the second-best service rating of all tour players (295.4) – only Taylor Fritz has surpassed him in this period (296.3).
The former world number two can afford to go to a tiebreak a little more often than other pros. Sometimes this tendency takes on huge proportions. Apart from Ben Shelton (59), no other player on the tour has played more tiebreaks than the Hamburg native (52) in the last 52 weeks.
During his previous five matches, the current best German tennis player played at least one tiebreak (eight in total). We therefore see great value in the Zverev vs. Arnaldi odds with regard to at least one tiebreak in the match.
Matteo Arnaldi – Statistics & current form
Six Italian players are currently ranked among the top 50 players in the world. Matteo Arnaldi is at the bottom of this sextet. The former top 30 player is ranked 41st in the ATP world rankings, but at only 24 years of age, he can still look ahead with confidence.
His playing style is modeled on his idol, Novak Djokovic. However, his smile during matches is more reminiscent of Carlos Alcaraz. Arnaldi has not yet reached the level of these two top players. However, he has already proven his class in isolated encounters.
The National Bank Open suits the 24-year-old. Last year, he reached the semi-finals there and his career record in this tournament is extremely positive (6-2). The world number 41 also has a positive record at Masters level (25-19).
Arnaldi hopes for another deep run
The Italian won his opening match against Tristan Schoolkate (2-1). The high number of double faults (8) prevented him from winning in two sets. However, twelve aces in this match are testament to his decent serving skills.
He has already made a few exclamation marks this calendar year. At the Masters tournament in Madrid, Arnaldi defeated Novak Djokovic (2-0) and Frances Tiafoe (2-0), among others, on his way to the quarterfinals. The Italian also knocked Andrey Rublev out of the tournament in Indian Wells in the second round (2-0).
Unlike his German opponent, the 24-year-old has already gained some experience on hard courts in the run-up to the Masters tournament, reaching the third round in Washington. There, after victories over Daniel Altmaier (2-1) and Lorenzo Sonego (2-0), he finally lost to Taylor Fritz (0-2).
Alexander Zverev – Matteo Arnaldi Head-to-head record / H2H record
The only previous meeting between these two opponents was not too long ago. At the beginning of the year, Zverev won his opening match against Matteo Arnaldo in Acapulco after three intense sets. As recommended in our Zverev vs. Arnaldo prediction, the match went to a tiebreak.
Alexander Zverev – Matteo Arnaldi Tip
Zverev has played at least one tiebreak in seven of his last ten matches. His opening match against Adam Walton (2-0) also featured a thrilling tiebreak, in which the German won a rally lasting 52 strokes.
After his 28-day break from tournament play, the German will still need to shake off some rust in certain phases of the match. It is quite possible that he will focus particularly on his own serve, which increases the likelihood of “Over 0.5 tiebreaks.”
