Will Sascha overcome this challenging hurdle?
The German number one did have a few shaky moments at Melbourne Park. In the end, however, Alexander Zverev beat his first three opponents 3-1 each and confidently advanced to the round of 16 at the Australian Open. Here, he now faces a formidable opponent.
Of four singles matches against the Argentine clay court expert so far, the German has won only one, in which Francisco Cerundolo had to retire in the second set due to injury. So, in Alexander Zverev vs. Francisco Cerundolo, the prediction that Sascha will reach the quarterfinals of the hard court Grand Slam Down Under for the fifth time in his career is not a sure thing.
It is clear that Francisco Cerundolo favors clay courts, as evidenced by the fact that he has now reached the round of 16 of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time ever outside of the French Open. Nevertheless, this year’s run by the world number 21 from Argentina is highly impressive.
The man from Buenos Aires won all three matches 3-0 and most recently eliminated Zverev’s close friend Andrey Rublev (ATP 13) in the third round. Against this backdrop, a hard-fought match is practically inevitable, which is why we find the greatest value in the Zverev vs. Cerundolo prediction that at least one set will go to a tiebreak.
In addition to betting on over 0.5 tiebreaks, betting on over 3.5 sets is also a hot tip, which would have paid off in every single match involving the world number three from Germany so far.
Meanwhile, those looking for higher odds on Alexander Zverev vs. Francisco Cerundolo and willing to take a higher risk can alternatively consider betting at bet365 at odds of 2.20 that Sascha will win the match, but his Argentine opponent will take at least one set.
Alexander Zverev – Francisco Cerundolo Head-to-head record
Head to head: 1:3
The two players have crossed paths four times on the ATP Tour so far, with Francisco Cerundolo leading the head-to-head record with three wins. However, the record must be viewed in context. The Argentine is a proven clay court expert and has beaten Alexander Zverev in all three of their previous meetings on clay.
Last fall, however, the two players met for the first time on hard court at the 2025 National Bank Open in Toronto. Sascha promptly won 2-0, with Francisco Cerundolo having to retire due to injury at the start of the second set.
Alexander Zverev – Francisco Cerundolo Tip
Although the record shows that Sascha has struggled against the Argentine clay court expert so far, our prediction for Alexander Zverev vs. Francisco Cerundolo is that the German will advance, having just won in the third round against Cameron Norrie with a convincing 78 percent of points won on his first serve and only two service games lost.
However, the Argentine also posted similarly dominant stats, dropping only one service game in his recent 3-0 victory over Andrey Rublev and winning 80 percent of points on his first serve and 61 percent on his second.
If both athletes serve at the same level in this round of 16 as they did in the previous rounds, sets in which both win all six service games before going to a tiebreak at 6-6 are practically inevitable. Accordingly, the tip for over 0.5 tiebreaks is very popular.
