Davis Cup 2022 qualifiers: Alexander Zverev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild preview, head-to-head and prediction
Match Details
Fixture: (GER) Alexander Zverev vs (BRA) Thiago Seyboth Wild
Tournament: Davis Cup
Date: 4 March 2022
Round: Qualifying Round
Venue: Rio de Janeiro
Category: ITF Tournament
Surface: Clay
Live Telecast: Brazil - Globo, Germany - Sportdeutschland.tv
Alexander Zverev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild preview
Germany’s Alexander Zverev will take on Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild in the qualifiers of the 2022 Davis Cup on Friday.
Zverev has had a disappointing season so far by his standards. He entered the Australian Open as one of the favorites after winning two matches at the ATP Cup. He made a good start to the tournament, beating Daniel Altmaier, John Millman and Radu Albot to reach the fourth round. But he suffered a surprising straight-sets loss to Denis Shapovalov in the last 16.
The German then entered the Open Sud de France as the top seed and started with a win over Mackenzie McDonald in the second round. He thrashed Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-0 to reach the semifinals of the competition.
Zverev then defeated Mikael Ymer to set up a final against Alexander Bublik. However, the Kazakh crushed Zverev in straight sets to win his first ATP title.
The World No. 3 then traveled to Mexico to defend his title at Acapulco. He beat Jenson Brooksby in a marathon three-setter to set up a clash with compatriot Peter Gojowczyk in the second round.
However, the German was disqualified from the tournament due to unsportsmanlike conduct after smashing his racquet on the umpire's chair during his doubles match.
A historic day in Acapulco ⏰
Brooksby vs Zverev became the latest-ever finish to a tennis match! https://t.co/rZxaHFNjL7
Alexander Zverev was thrown out of the Mexican Open after smashing the umpire's chair 😳 https://t.co/cA7JeQkoli
Thiago Seyboth Wild, meanwhile, started his season in poor fashion, losing in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open to Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano.
The Brazilian then lost in the second round of qualifying to Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien at the Argentina Open. The 21-year-old failed to make it to the main draw of the Rio Open as well.
Seyboth Wild received a wildcard for the Santiago Open and reached the last 16 after defeating Nicolas Kicker. However, he was beaten by Yannick Hanfmann in the next round.
Alexander Zverev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between Zverev and Seyboth Wild, so their head-to-head stands at 0-0 currently.
Alexander Zverev vs Thiago Seyboth Wild prediction
Zverev will enter the match as the overwhelming favorite. The German has a pretty good record on clay, winning 14 out of 18 matches on the surface since the start of 2021. Three of the German's five Masters 1000 titles have also come on clay.
The 24-year-old's strong serve and solid groundstrokes will no doubt make things difficult for Seyboth Wild. The Brazilian will feel at home on the clay in Rio, but he has never really faced a player of Zverev's caliber before.
Seyboth Wild has a pretty big serve and will look to win as many cheap points as he can. But his lack of power from the baseline could prove to be a problem.
Ultimately, the German should have little trouble notching up a win for his nation.
Prediction: Zverev to win in straight sets.