Qualifiers, the 253rd-ranked Stefano Napolitano and 302nd-ranked Beibit Zhukayev face off in the first round of the 2023 Shanghai Masters on Thursday, October 5. Get the live streaming options of this Stefano Napolitano v Beibit Zhukayev match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Stefano Napolitano v Beibit Zhukayev Head to Head
Napolitano and Zhukayev have never faced off before this in a competitive match before this.
Napolitano v Zhukayev Match Winning Odds*
- Napolitano to win: 6/5 (with bet365)
- Zhukayev to win: 4/6 (with bet365)
Napolitano Aided by Polmans Injury in Qualifiers
Once ranked 152nd in the world, the 28-year-old Napolitano has fallen to outside of the top 250 at the moment. He had entered the qualifiers of this tournament with just one main draw match under his belt for the season, one that he had lost in the first round of the Rome Masters earlier this year.
Napolitano might not have even added to that sole number as he lost the first set of his second qualifier at the Shanghai Masters against Marc Polmans, a 4/6 favourite in their encounter.
In the second set, the score was tied at six games apiece when Polmans was forced to retire from the encounter, leaving Napolitano a surprise entrant into the main draw.
What makes this even better for the Italian is he will now face another qualifier, and one who is ranked even lower than him, making him a favourite to win his second career match at the highest level.
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Zhukayev Scrapes Through the Qualifiers
Having played just two main draw matches at the highest level in his career before this, Zhukayev enters this opener with the great hope that he can notch up his first ever win. And he has a good chance of doing that given the kind of opponent he’s up against and his own fighting qualities that have been on display in the qualifiers here.
Starting out a 11/10 underdog against Jason Jung in the first qualifying round, Zhukayev came back from a set down to upset his Chinese Taipei opponent.
And in the second, he scraped past Dominik Palan in another three-setter that saw a first set tie-breaker that could have gone either way too.
Overall this season however, Zhukayev hasn’t had a great time with a win-loss record of 27-26. Which almost makes one believe these two qualifying victories are a flash in a pan.
Only time will tell whether that’s actually the case but that’s also the reason why Zhukayev starts off a second favourite here.
Napolitano v Zhukayev Prediction and Tip
While Zhukayev has shown he can mount a fight, we think Napolitano holds a lot more experience and ammunition to come through.
Tips & Odds*:
- Low Risk Tip: Napolitano to win: 4/6 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
- Moderate Risk Tip: Over 21.5 games in the match: 5/6 (Click Here to Bet with 888Sport)
*Odds correct at the time of writing and only indicative. Please check respective bookmakers to get the latest odds.
The 2023 Shanghai Masters will be played from October 4 to 15. 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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