In a surprise quarterfinal, the 121st-ranked Aslan Karatsev faces Chinese player and 99th-ranked Zhang Zhizhen at the 2023 ATP Madrid Masters on Thursday, May 4. Get the predictions and odds of this Aslan Karatsev v Zhang Zhizhen match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Aslan Karatsev v Zhang Zhizhen Head to Head
Interestingly, they have played once before and it came last year at the Astana Open. Zhang had won that in three sets.
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Karatsev Shocks Medvedev
It’s been one of those tournaments for Karatsev where almost everything’s going for him.
Having made the semifinal at the Pune Open earlier this, Karatsev’s form had slid downward as he failed to win a single main draw match in the next six tournaments he played.
It was only in Munich that he started out as a qualifier and made the second round to break that poor run of form.
Still, not too many would have expected him to do what he’s done here in Madrid. He made the main draw as a qualifier and over the next four rounds, has won matches despite coming into them as 13/10, 5/3, 7/5 and 13/5 underdog respectively in them.
The fourth round win would have been extra special with Karatsev managing to end the world number three Daniil Medvedev’s stay in the tournament. He grabbed his quarterfinal place with a 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory.
He now faces a relatively unknown quantity in the tennis world but one who has beaten him in the past.
Zhizhen’s Fairy-Tale Continues to Prosper
Much like Karatsev, Zhizhen has gone into each of his four rounds of this tournament as a second-favourite but unlike him, the odds have been heavily stacked against him.
What has been most interesting has been the manner in which he won his previous two rounds – down a set in both and coming back to clinch the encounter in two tie-breakers.
A whopping 9/2 underdog in the fourth round against Taylor Fritz, Zhang saved three match-points in the final set before winning it 10-8 in the tie-breaker. He was on court for nearly two and a half hours.
With scalps of Jurij Rodionov, Denis Shapovalov and Cameron Norrie already under his belt, Zhang will now hope he can become the second Chinese player this season to enter the last four stage of an ATP tournament after Wu Yibing.
Karatsev v Zhizhen Prediction and Tip
Tough one to call but for Zhang’s sheer grit and determination we will have to give him the edge here.
Tips:
- Low Risk Tip: Zhang to win a set: 1/2
- High Risk Tip: Zhang to win: 13/8
The 2023 ATP Madrid Open will be played from April 26 to May 7. 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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