Rome Masters: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jannik Sinner preview, head-to-head & prediction | Italian Open 2020
Match details
Fixture: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jannik Sinner
Date: 16 September 2020
Tournament: Italian Open 2020
Round: Second round (Round of 32)
Venue: Rome, Italy
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: €3,465,045
Match timing: 2 pm CEST (5.30 pm IST)
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Sony Six
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jannik Sinner preview
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on wild-card entrant Jannik Sinner in the second round of the 2020 Rome Masters on Wednesday. This promises to be a cracker, and has the potential to be one of the best matches of the tournament.
Jannik Sinner displayed some sensational tennis in the first round against Benoit Paire, whom he thrashed for the loss of just three games. The home favorite Sinner outplayed the erratic and often petulant Frenchman, and will be well-prepared to face the might of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Greek has a rather tragic recent history coming into the Rome Masters. Tsitsipas wasted six match points before bowing out to Borna Coric in the third round of the US Open, and looked utterly heartbroken at the end of the match.
It remains to be seen whether he has overcome that disappointment; the loss could possibly have a lingering impact on his mindset throughout the clay swing.
Clay is a surface that both Tsitsipas and Sinner enjoy playing on. It often brings out the best of their abilities, especially for the Greek, who relishes deploying his topspin-heavy forehand on the slow surface.
Jannik Sinner’s advantage is that Tsitsipas hasn’t had any match practice on clay coming into this match. The Italian would thus look to get off the blocks quickly and give himself an early lead.
That said, if Tsitsipas can find his first serve regularly, he is more than capable of dictating the rallies with his immense variety.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jannik Sinner head-to-head
Stefanos Tsitsipas leads Jannik Sinner in the head-to-head by a margin of 1-0. Quite interestingly, their only previous encounter came in the second round of the Italian Open last year. Tsitsipas won that match in straight sets, with a 6-3, 6-2 scoreline.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jannik Sinner prediction
Jannik Sinner is one of the brightest young prospects in tennis currently, and much of that can be attributed to his all-round game. The Italian is strong off both wings and even boasts of a solid serve. Sinner is not prone to making too many errors, and is a very tricky opponent to get into rallies with.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, however, possesses just the kind of arsenal that can upset the Italian’s rhythm. A horde of sliced backhands and topspin-heavy forehands from the Greek could pose a lot of questions to Sinner, who will have to defend out of his skin if Tsitsipas finds his timing quickly.
Sinner would look to keep the rallies short, and attack the Greek’s backhand with his serve and groundstrokes. But he would also have to return better than he normally does to break the Tsitsipas serve, which is a tall order at the best of times.
Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in three sets.