Sports
Zverev to Use Pain in Spain as Fuel for French Open Glory
Zverev The weeks leading to a tennis Grand Slam event tend to be an important time as players jockey for form and confidence.
From a betting perspective, that includes identifying those at value odds who have shown enough form to suggest they can contend on the big stage. To that end, Alexander Zverev has to be considered a very interesting proposition ahead of the 2022 French Open. The German has reached the semi-finals and a final of key warm-up events on clay. Anyone looking to bet on tennis will see odds of 17.0 on Zverev to win the tournament, which is eye-catching indeed.
However, those keen to place a bet on French Open tennis may also look to defending champion Novak Djokovic as their selection. Then there’s clay court king Rafa Nadal, who has won more majors on the surface than any other player. But he is struggling with a rib injury at the moment, and so Zverez is much more of a value proposition.
Rafael Nadal will be out of action for up to six weeks due to a stress fracture of the rib, denting his build-up up to French Open in late May.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 22, 2022
The 25-year-old suffered disappointment in Spain when losing in the Madrid Open final, but he can take plenty of positives out of another deep run on the clay in a prestigious event – and by the fact that he beat a number of quality performers, including former major champion Marin Cilic, on his route to the final.
The man known as ‘Sascha’ has leveled some of the blame for his defeat on the ATP Tour, describing their scheduling as an ‘absolute disgrace’. His quarter-final and semi-final games both started deep into the night, with Zverev confirming: “Two days ago, I went to bed at 4am, 4:30am. Yesterday I went to bed at 5:20am.
“You know, if any normal person goes to bed one night at 4am, the next night at 5am, it will be a tough time just to be awake for them.”
With a good night’s sleep under his belt, the German will be eyeing French Open glory.
Slow and Steady
Even though he’s still relatively young in his tennis career, Zverev has already shown a fondness for the slower, high-bouncing clay surfaces of mainland Europe.
Just a few weeks ago, he found himself in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters. He beat a string of quality players there too – like the impressive Pablo Carreno Busta – on his way to the last four, and has since progressed to the same stage of the Rome Masters as well.
A strong start to the 2022 clay court campaign matched his efforts of last season. Zverev was the Madrid Masters champion then, beating Nadal and other classy operators like Matteo Berrettini and Dominic Thiem.
Vainqueur du Masters de Madrid 2021 : Alexander Zverev pic.twitter.com/omniPinHuN
— We Are Tennis France (@WeAreTennisFR) May 9, 2021
He also reached the quarter-finals in Rome, and then at the French Open, the 25-year-old reached the semi-finals – dropping just two sets on route. So clay is definitely the way for Zverev, and at 17.0 bettors are able to back a player who has already reached a Grand Slam final and three semis.
Typically, players with a low center of gravity tend to thrive on clay, and so Zverev – at 6ft 6in – does not exactly fit the bill as a successful player on the surface. But his long levers help to get him around the court, he can get ‘on top’ of high-bouncing balls and has the repertoire of shots needed to mix up play and to throw his opponents out of their rhythm.
And it’s for those reasons that the omens are good for Zverez ahead of another tilt at the title at Roland Garros.
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