Rotterdam Open 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (1) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur.
Date: 11 February 2022.
Tournament: Rotterdam Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Indoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: €1,117,900.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur preview
Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Australian Alex de Minaur in an exciting quarterfinal showdown at the 2022 Rotterdam Open on Friday.
Tsitsipas registered a comfortable 6-4, 6-1 victory over Ilya Ivashka to book his place in the last eight. The Greek was the firm favorite going into the match and lived up to the billing, advancing to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row at Rotterdam.
No stopping him 👊
No. 1 seed @steftsitsipas defeats Ivashka 6-4 6-1 and moves into the quarter-finals
#abnamrowtt https://t.co/25RqXBtpEe
He will be looking to keep the momentum going over the rest of the tournament.
Alex de Minaur, meanwhile, needed three sets to subdue a challenge from Mackenzie McDonald in the second round. The Australian won a hard-fought first set, but was outplayed by his opponent in the second.
The deciding set was evenly contested until the end. As McDonald served to stay in the match at 4-5, de Minaur amped up the pressure and secured the win by breaking his opponent's serve.
With the 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-4 win, de Minaur progressed to his first quarterfinal of the season.
A demon-stration of perseverance. 😈
@alexdeminaur reaches the quarterfinals of the #abnamrowtt, after toughing out a 7-6(6) 1-6 6-4 win over Mackenzie McDonald. 💪 https://t.co/29lcIZq0Lu
The Australian has been playing quite well this year. He won two of his three group matches at the ATP Cup, including one over World No. 7 Matteo Berrettini. He then progressed to the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he lost to Jannik Sinner.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur head-to-head
The two have played each other six times previously, with Tsitsipas leading 6-0 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open in three sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur prediction
Both players are playing quite well at the moment, but given the lopsided head-to-head between them, Tsitsipas will be favored to win.
The match will feature contrasting styles of play. While the Greek employs an aggressive approach from the baseline, de Minaur relies on his court coverage to prolong rallies and frustrate opponents into errors.
One aspect where Tsitsipas has the edge is the serve. The Greek has a powerful first serve that helps him set up points. De Minaur, on the other hand, does not often win free points on his serve and that's come back to bite him on many occasions in his career.
The Australian has a poor record against top-10 players, winning just five of 28 matches against them. It's unlikely that stat will improve on Friday.
Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in straight sets.