Alex De Minaur vs Alexander Zverev Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Italian Open

Prediction published on 11/05/2022, 09:18  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 11/05/2022 at 17:14 in Tennis Predictions

Second seeded Alexander Zverev has unseeded opposition to beat in this and the next round of the Rome Masters. His third round opponent is Australia's Alex de Minaur, with the winner taking on either Christian Garin or Marin Cilic in the quarter finals. Zverev made it to the final in Madrid last week but was well beaten in the final by Carlos Alcaraz, who isn't playing this event. Zverev was not happy with the scheduling that saw him playing in the early hours of Sunday and then the final in the early evening. The German also got to the semi-finals in Monte Carlo but is still to win a title this year, after losing the Montpellier final to Alexander Bublik. In Rome this week, Zverev has beaten qualifier Sebastian Baez in straight sets. He has a good record against de Minaur with five wins out of six. None have been played on clay but Zverev has the better record on this surface.

Alex de Minaur is world ranked 22 and up a place in the live rankings. A win over Zverev will see him climb up to 20th place, five behind his career best of 15th achieved last year. The Australian has had an inconsistent year with only one quarter final in Rotterdam before the clay court season began. He did play well on clay in Barcelona, losing in three sets to Carlos Alcaraz in the last four. He'd beaten Cameron Norrie on his way to the semi-final. He has had straight sets wins over qualifier Dusan Lajovic and Tommy Paul to get to the last 16 in Rome. It's a relief for de Minaur as three previous Rome Masters appearances have all ended in the first round. This is a tougher task and as long as Zverev gets a good night's sleep, he can win this to reach the quarter final.