The last two matches of the group format on Friday, November 15th will decide who will join Stefanos Tsitsipas from Group Andre Agassi as the other semi-finalist, when Alexander Zverev takes on Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal plays Stefanos Tsitsipas. Get the tips and predictions for these matches below.
Get the best odds for the ATP Tour Finals 2019 with 888Sport here.[the_ad_group id=”1639″]
*Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Alexander Zverev v Daniil Medvedev Predictions & Preview
‘Next Gen’ stars Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev meet for the sixth time in their career with Zverev having a convincing 4-1 head-to-head in his favor. The last time they met was at the finals of the ATP Masters 1000 in Shanghai which was won convincingly by Medvedev to clinch the title. Incidentally, it remains his only win against Zverev to date.
Zverev’s two matches at the tournament thus far have been representative of his season in a nutshell, an excellent performance followed by a very ordinary one, lacking in any sort of consistency. The German who is the defending champion at the Tour Finals, got his campaign off to a blazing start with a very convincing win against world number one Rafael Nadal, looking like he had picked up right from where he had left off last year.
What followed thereafter was a lackluster outing against a spirited Stefanos Tsitsipas where the scoreline of Zverev’s loss read very similar to his win against Nadal. With Tsitsipas having qualified for the semi-finals, the German will be look to put a spirited display in his last group match, as well as have the results of the other match in Group Agassi go in his favor.
After a stellar run this year, and being the leader of the pack among the ‘Next Gen’, Daniil Medvedev seems to have lost his way a little of late. After six consecutive finals and winning titles at Cincinnati, Shanghai and St.Petersburg, the young Russian lost his opener at the Paris Masters (to J.Chardy) as well as his opening group match at the Tour Finals to Stefanos Tsitsipas, who he had a 5-0 head-to-head against prior.
Coming into his second match agains Rafael Nadal (who had also lost his opener), Medvedev looked to be getting back in the groove winning the first set in a tiebreak. Despite losing the second set, he was in strong form in the decider leading 5-1 with a double break and match-point on the Nadal serve.
What followed was an unprecedented breakdown on the part of the Russian, that the experienced Nadal took full advantage of, winning the match in a final-set tiebreak. The Russian who started as one of the favorites for the title, now looks at a daunting task ahead to make the final four that will be largely dependent on the outcome of the other Group Agassi match too.
While this can be anyone’s match, Zverev has had more success at this tournament than most in recent times, and looks in better form this week out of the two. It will also be difficult for Medvedev to recover mentally from the collapse against Nadal. A tight match on the cards, with Zverev winning in a decider being the most likely outcome.
Tip: Zverev to win in three sets: 7/2 (Click here to get these odds with Unibet)
[maxbutton id=”10″]
Rafael Nadal v Stefanos Tsitsipas Predictions & Preview
Rafael Nadal has a 4-1 head-to-head against Stefanos Tsitipas. They have met three times this year, with Nadal winning the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the Masters 1000 in Rome, while Tsitsipas pulled off a dream win against the ‘King of Clay’ at the Madrid Masters 1000.
Somewhat surprisingly, world number one Nadal comes in to what is now basically a ‘must-win’ match for him, where as the unbeaten Tsitsipas has already qualified for the final four.
Recently crowned world number one Nadal came into the tournament with some doubts around his fitness after pulling out of the Paris Masters 1000 with an abdominal injury, to a tournament (ATP Tour Finals) that has always eluded him. A mix of some possible fitness issues, slow movement on the fast surface and a very attacking display by Alexander Zverev saw Nadal lose tamely in the opener.
Despite putting up a better performance in the next round against Medvedev, the Spaniard looked all but out, when he came back from match point down at 1-5 in the third set to clinch a miraculous win. With a few different permutation combinations possible that will see one of Nadal, Zverev and Medvedev join Tsitsipas in the final four, the world number one will know that a convincing win is the best favor he can do himself ahead of qualifying for the semi-finals this weekend.
After two strong performances against Medvedev and Zverev, resulting in two straight set wins, Greek sensation Tsitsipas is the first to qualify for the semi-finals from Group Andre Agassi. The world number six has continued his late season revival adding to his performances during the Asia swing and the European indoor season here once again.
The winner of the ATP Next Gen Finals last year, will be thrilled at this run here and season in general, and look to end on a strong note, not losing any of the momentum that he has gathered this week, despite already having qualified for the final four.
Another exciting match on the cards, where both players will want to end with a win for different reasons. While Tsitsipas has been on song all week, Nadal’s week may just have received the confidence it needed with the turnaround in the final set against Medvedev. When he is cornered and knows he must win at all costs, there are few as dangerous as Rafa Nadal. Expect Nadal to win in two hard-fought sets.
Tip: Nadal to win in two sets: 5/4 (Click here to get these odds with Unibet)
[maxbutton id=”10″]