World number 116 Dominic Thiem will be up against the 53rd-ranked Zhizhen Zhang in the second round of the 2023 Kitzbuhel Open on Wednesday, August 2. Get the predictions and odds of this Dominic Thiem v Zhizhen Zhang match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Dominic Thiem v Zhizhen Zhang Head to Head
Thiem has won their only previous meeting that came on the hardcourts of the Beijing Open in 2019.
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Thiem Stretched by Bagnis
In a match that lasted two hours and 21 minutes and needed him to pull through two tie-breakers, Thiem was able to come through to the second round.
Thiem defeated Facundo Bagnis 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) after facing nine break-points in the encounter. He was broken twice, the same number he broke Bagnis’ serve too but from a mere five break-points.
In fact such was the close nature of the encounter that Thiem faced five set-points in the first set and two more in the second before edging past his Argentine opponent.
This makes it a third successive time that Thiem has made the second round of a tournament since Wimbledon, having done that in Gstaad and Umag before this. That being said, he had been knocked out at this stage on both the previous two occasions.
Can he change that script around this time?
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Zhang Tames Lajovic
While it was Dusan Lajovic who had entered the match as the seeded player, Zhang was a 4/5 favourite. He not only lived up to that tag, but also ensured he had crushed any hopes that Lajovic would have harboured going into the encounter.
Zhang, coming off a confident showing at the Hamburg Open last week where he made the semifinal, overcame Lajovic 6-3, 6-2 to make the second round.
And what was even more interesting was that the match lasted a mere 63 minutes with Zhang facing and saving a break-point. On the other hand, Lajovic was broken four times – two in each of the two sets.
This has been a season to remember for Zhang with the Chinese player having climbed up to his career-best ranking of 52nd. It’s been thanks to his performances on clay which have seen him make the quarterfinals at the Madrid Masters and the third round at the French Open.
He will be confident of his chances against Thiem.
Thiem v Zhang Prediction and Tip
Given what has gone about in recent times, there’s not much to choose between these two players. While Thiem starts a 4/6 favourite, there’s no doubting Zhang’s chances and we are looking to take a contrarian call here.
Tips:
- Moderate Risk Tip: Zhang to win: 6/5
The 2023 ATP Kitzbuhel will be played from July 31 to August 6. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
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