U.S. Open finalist Alexander Zverev will take on the red hot Italian youngster Jannik Sinner for a spot in the French Open quarterfinals on Sunday. Diego Schwartzman will also be in action against Lorenzo Sonego.
(6) Alexander Zverev vs. Jannik Sinner
The round of 16 clash between Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner has the makings of a real crowd pleaser. Sinner is enjoying the best Slam of his young career in Paris. The 19-year-old dispatched No. 11 seed David Goffin to kick off his fortnight and he has been steaming along nicely since, though the competition is about to get a lot more difficult.
Zverev comes into Paris off a run all the way to the finals of the U.S. Open, where the German lost a 5-set heartbreaker to Dominic Thiem. Zverev elected to play no clay warm up events coming into Roland Garros. Indeed, the German looked rusty in his second round match against world No. 78 Pierre-Hugues Herbert, which went the distance.
Until this fortnight, Sinner had notable difficulty successfully navigating the best-of-5 format of Grand Slam tournaments. He seems to have addressed that issue, though it should be noted that the Italian has not dropped a set yet, so he hasn’t played any unusually long matches.
As the far more experienced player, Zverev has a distinct edge over Sinner. Still, that doesn’t mean that Sinner has no chance of an upset. He is in impressive form and while Zverev isn’t struggling, he also isn’t at his best, either. Expect the Italian to put up a fight, but for Zverev to eventually find his way through.
Cheryl pick : Zverev in 4
Ricky pick: Zverev in 5
(12) Diego Schwartzman vs. Lorenzo Sonego
Rome finalist Diego Schwartzman will take on another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego. Schwartzman has had an easy road to the fourth round. The Argentine hasn’t been tested at all so far, with straight set wins in his first three matches.
Lorenzo Sonego racked up quite a poor record coming into the French Open. The world No. 46 was a miserable 3-10 in ATP tour-level matches. His performance in Paris is by far his best of the season so far. The Italian even dispatched 27th seed Taylor Fritz in the third round.
Schwartzman is playing good clay court tennis right now. Sonego is unlikely to have the kind of firepower or consistency required to take out the Argentine. Expect Schwartzman to move into the quarters fairly comfortably.
Cheryl pick: Schwartzman in 3
Ricky pick: Schwartzman in 3
Hugo Gazston (he’s real name wont work in the forum) has come in from $41 to $19 so market thinks he’s a bigger chance than initially thought.
Zverev is paying 1.48 which suggests bookies think he’s a very strong chance. Whenever odds are circa 1.50 that means the underdog has a strong chance of winning. When they price it 1.48 they are usually try to hide what they think from Joe Public.
Isn’t djoko now better placed in odds than rafa ? Someone told me he is fav followed by rafa
They are 2.35 each so market thinks they have equal chance of winning.
Let’s hope they both get there. It would be an incredible final on clay when Djokovic is playing this well.
I think Tsitsipas is overs big time against Dimtrov also. That’s almost a 50/50 contest. Dimitrov is top 5 in the world when he turns up.
goodbye Zverev
Fantastic performance from Sinner