A matchup worthy of at least a Grand Slam quarterfinal will take place in the Rotterdam second round on Thursday, when Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner collide. Daniil Medvedev and Botic van de Zandschulp are also in action.
(1) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jannik Sinner
Tsitsipas and Sinner will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again in round two of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Thursday. Sinner will be ruing the fact that he is unseeded in Rotterdam and has to go up against Tsitsipas this early in the tournament. After all, this has not been a good matchup for the 21-year-old Italian. He is 1-5 in the head-to-head series and four of his losses have come in straight sets. Sinner managed to take two sets off Tsitsipas at last month’s Australian Open, but the Greek prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 on his eventual way to the final.
Hoping to build on his impressive performance Down Under, Tsitsipas opened with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Emil Ruusuvuori on Tuesday. He is now 13-1 this year, while Sinner is 9-2 following a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Benjamin Bonzi on Wednesday. The world No. 14 has has plenty of momentum behind him on the heels of last week’s title in Montpellier, but Tsitsipas is well rested and knows he has the upper hand in this matchup.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 3
(6) Daniil Medvedev vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
Medvedev and Van de Zandschulp are also no strangers. They have faced each other on three occasions, with Medvedev victorious at the 2021 U.S. Open and twice last season at the Australian Open and Cincinnati Masters. Only once has Van de Zandschulp even taken a set, and the world No. 11 has won six sets in a row dating back to their first encounter without requiring a single tiebreaker.
Although Medvedev may not be in peak form right now, there is no reason to think anything will be different. Van de Zandschulp has not defeated anyone ranked better than 42nd since last September and he needed a third-set tiebreaker to overcome lucky loser Quentin Halys 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4) in an error-strewn match on Wednesday afternoon. Medvedev, who beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday, is likely on his way to the quarterfinals with little trouble.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
Tpas in 2; DM in 2.