Australia Open 2024: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Zizou Bergs preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (7) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs.(LL) Zizou Bergs
Tournament: Australian Open 2024
Round: First round
Venue: Melbourne Park, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $58.91 million
Live telecast: North America - Tennis Channel, ESPN | Europe- Eurosport, Servas TV | Asia Pacific & Oceania - Channel 9, Tennis Channel | Africa - Super Sport, bein Sports
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Matteo Berrettini preview
Seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Zizou Bergs in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.
The Greek ended the 2023 season at the ATP Finals in Turin. He lost his tournament opener 6-4, 6-4 against Jannik Sinner.
Tsitsipas started the 2024 season at the United Cup and won his first match of the tournament 6-2, 6-3 against Canada's Steven Diez. His second match was against Alexander Zverev in Greece's quarterfinal tie against Germany, and the latter won 6-4, 6-4.
Zizou Bergs finished the 2023 season by winning a Challenger tournament in Yokkaichi, Japan. The Belgian started the 2024 season in the qualifying rounds of the Hong Kong Open, and lost 6-2, 6-2 to Jan Choinski.
He next competed in the Australian Open qualifiers and reached the final round with wins over Zdenek Kolar and Joris de Loore. Here, the Belgian faced Dane Sweeny and won the opening set 7-5. However, the Aussie won the second set by the same margin to force the match into a decider. Sweeny led 2-0 before Bergs decided to retire due to an injury.
However, the Belgian booked his place in the main draw of the Australian Open after Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the tournament because of an injury.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Zizou Bergs head-to-head:
The head-to-head between the two on the ATP Tour stands at 0-0 so far, although Tsitsipas beat Bergs in the qualifying rounds of the 2017 Antwerp Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Zizou Bergs odds:
All odds sourced by BETMGM.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Zizou Bergs prediction
It is common knowledge that Tsitsipas enjoys playing his forehand than he enjoys playing his backhand. Hence, Bergs will target the Greek’s backhand with his own crosscourt backhand. One can assume that Tsitsipas will play his backhand slice quite often and also use his drop shots at times to drag the Belgian to the net.
However, Bergs will try to capitalize on Tsitsipas' ordinary return of serve to keep winning cheap points on his serve.Still, Tsitsipas is too good a player and has too much pedigree to be troubled by the Belgian throughout the match.
Bergs might be able to stretch the Greek in a set or two, but it should be a straightforward victory for the latter in the end. Bergs will have to do really well to take a set off his opponent on Monday.
Pick: Tsitsipas to win in straight sets