The semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals are on Saturday, November 16th with Roger Federer playing Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem taking on Alexander Zverev. 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
Roger Federer v Stefanos Tsitsipas Predictions & Preview
Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas meet for the fourth time this year, and in their careers. After Tsitsipas upset Federer the first time they met, at the Australian Open fourth round at the start of the year, the Swiss won both their subsequent meetings in the Dubai ATP 500 finals and the Basel ATP 500 semi-finals to hold a 2-1 lead in the head-to-head.
Six-Time ATP Finals winner Roger Federer began his quest for a record seventh title, in the Bjorn Borg Group, and was put on the backfoot early with a straight sets loss against Dominic Thiem who was in scintillating form. A better display by the Swiss in his second round over Tour Finals debutante Matteo Berrettini ensured that he kept his hopes alive for a semi-final qualification.
But, when Thiem defeated Novak Djokovic in a thrilling three-setter, the Federer-Djokovic group stage match became a knockout, with Thiem topping Group Borg. After having gone four years of not beating Djokovic in five meetings, the twenty-time major title winner Federer put up a near flawless display with a 6-4,6-3 straight sets win that looked him rolling back the years, in turn qualifying for the final four yet again.
Young Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas capped an excellent season by qualifying for the ATP Tour Finals the year after winning the Next Gen Finals in Milan.
His season which was turned around after a dip during the Wimbledon and US Open continued its forward march this week, with victories over Daniil Medvedev, and Alexander Zverev ensuring he qualified for the semi-finals.
Tsitsipas played the longest match of the tournament in his last group match losing a three-setter in just under three hours to world number one Rafael Nadal, which turned out to be inconsequential for the Greek, having already qualified for the final four.
Since the Asian swing in Beijing and Shanghai, Tsitsipas has been exhibiting more and more comfort with the faster courts, playing at a good level with some exquisite shot making.
In the short period that they have played each other, Federer and Tsitsipas have developed a rivalry of their own. Expect another eye pleasing clash of two gorgeous single handed backhands. It is anyone’s match but Federer played a phenomenal level in his most recent match and has an extra day’s rest, while Tstsipas is coming back after an almost three hour tussle with Nadal on back-to-back days.
If Federer plays close to the form he was in on Thursday, he will be difficult to stop and can be expected to win in two well-fought sets.
Tip: Federer to win in straight sets: 5/6 (Click here to get these odds with bet365)
[maxbutton id=”10″]
Dominic Thiem v Alexander Zverev Predictions & Preview
This will be the eighth meeting between the two players, with Thiem leading the head-to-head by 5-2. The players last met in 2018, with Thiem winning the French Open quarterfinals, where as Zverev prevailed in the Madrid Masters 1000 final.
It has been an excellent year, and tournament for the Austrian, Thiem. Winning five titles this year, Thiem continued his strong clay court performance this year as well, but in addition was also the winner of titles on the hard and indoor surfaces, winning the Indian Wells Masters 1000, as well as titles at Vienna and Beijng.
The world number five looked in ominous form this week defeating Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in his first two matches and in turn topping the group. Thiem has defeated all of the Big Three this year with multiple wins over Djokovic (twice) and Federer (three times) this year. Despite an inconsequential loss to Matteo Berrettini in his last group match, the Austrian remains among the favorites for the title, given his current form.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev has not had the best year, with just one title win at the ATP 250 in Geneva. However, he has had an improved run of form since the Laver Cup, during the Asian Swing and the indoor European tournaments.
He began his title defense with a very convincing win against world number one Rafael Nadal. Despite a straight set loss to fellow ‘Next Gen’ Stefanos Tsitsipas, Zvere came back strongly to defeat Daniil Medvedev without dropping a set and qualifying for the final four at the O2 arena yet again. The German knows what it is like to succeed at this stage, and will be looking for a strong run this weekend.
An exciting match between these two on the cards, where one can expect another close encounter with some scintillating shotmaking. Despite having improved his form in recent times, and having met with success here prior, it remains to be seen how well Zverev can handle the onslaught that Thiem has been subjecting his opponents to. This should go to a decider, but it looks like Thiem will get a step closer to the biggest title of his career thus far.
Tip: Theim to win in three sets: 3/1 (Click here to get these odds with bet365)
[maxbutton id=”10″]