Australia is already through to the ATP Cup quarterfinals, but Alex de Minaur will be back in action on Tuesday to face Stefanos Tsitsipas. Alexander Zverev aims for his first win of the week against Denis Shapovalov.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Alex de Minaur (AUS)
Tsitsipas and de Minaur will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers on the main tour when they meet again at the ATP Cup on Tuesday. The ATP-level head-to-head series stands at 3-0 in favor of Tsitsipas, who has won five of their six encounters overall. They faced each other once last year, when the Greek cruised 6-3, 6-4 at the Paris Masters.
As usual, de Minaur is playing his best tennis at home in Australia. The world No. 18 is 2-0 so far at this inaugural team competition with three-set victories over Zverev and Shapovalov. Tsitsipas dealt with some apparent arm trouble in a loss to Shapovalov, but he bounced back in style to rout Zverev 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday. With de Minaur coming off two tough matches and Australia having already qualified for the quarterfinals, Tsitsipas should once again have the edge.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
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Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
Zverev got off to a slow start in 2019 and more of the same appears to be in store this season. Prior to his lopsided setback against Tsitsipas, the seventh-ranked German squandered a set and a break lead while falling to de Minaur 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2.
Shapovalov has been the far more impressive player, with a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) defeat of Tsitsipas and a competitive 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2 loss to de Minaur. The 14th-ranked Canadian is armed with plenty of confidence, and even though he trails this head-to-head series 3-1 he most recently beat Zverev at the Paris Masters this past fall.
Pick: Shapovalov in 2
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WYG?
Tsitsipas & Shapovalov both in 2
Tsitsi acting like a jerk today!…Urgh!!…I didn’t xpect that at all from him!..
At least tantrums from Nicky the brat or even Novak never hurt anyone b4!…Tsitsi’s bring it to the new level today!…Full credit to him!
MA, what did Tsitsi do?
As much as I like him – he has shown more than once that he can have a very salty side.
As Ricky has predicted correctly Shapo disposed of Zverev in two sets. The result itself is not a big surprise, but it was very easy and decisive, too – but maybe, that’s not a big surprise either these days. All three young guns (De Minaur, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov) have beaten Zverev now in short succession. He surely had hoped for a better beginning of the new decade. Rather than tackling the Big Three Zverev might find himself enbroiled in a fight for territory with those youngsters who are nipping at his heels or have overtaken him already. This adds another storyline to the already very intriguing upcoming AO!
The boy needs discipline. The dad is too nice to him imo. His mum reprimanded him on the spot I think.
I hope the boy apologises to his dad afterwards, his behaviour is atrocious and getting out of hand. He’ll get into trouble if he carries on like this.
I’m disappointed with his behaviour, he’s like Sasha and Medvedev!
Hey hey hey littlefoot!…Sorry for late reply!…
Urgh!…Tsitsi acting very bad today littlefoot…u can c it in this vid…https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-7860653/Stefanos-Tsitsipas-injures-DAD-furious-racket-smash-ATP-Cup.html
I was surprised he didn’t disqualified for that!
Thanks, MA! Very disappointing. I’m sure Tsitsipas didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but this should be penalized nevertheless. These youngsters have to realize that some tantrums can have very unfortunate consequences for others. I know about other cases where umpires, line judges or ball boys and girls have been hit accidentally by a player who vented his or her frustration. A couple of years ago Shapo hurt someone seriously during a Davis Cup meeting when he smashed a ball in order to vent his frustration. While no player intended to hurt someone, they all have been penalized – and so should Tsitsipas! This is not about enforcing decorum or good behavior. This is about preventing accidents.
I remember when Shapo hit a ball in frustration and it hit the chair umpire in the eye. He was immediately defaulted. I think the chair umpire needed surgery, but he recovered. That was really terrible to see.
That video of Tsitsipas is very disturbing. It’s one thing to just smash your racket, but to hit your own father is just absolutely unacceptable. To hit anyone is unacceptable. I think he should have been defaulted for that.
This young man better learn to keep it together on court.
What was Kyrgios doing playing Tsitsi anyway? Should have been DeMinaur v Tsitsi.
AUS already qualified so Demon was rested since he is more important to the team