Shanghai Masters 2023: Alexander Zverev vs Roman Safiullin preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (9) Alexander Zverev vs Roman Safiullin
Tournament: Shanghai Masters 2023
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China
Category: ATP 1000
Surface: Hard (Indoor)
Prize money: $8,800,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Alexander Zverev vs Roman Safiullin preview
Former US Open finalist Alexander Zverev will square off against Roman Safiullin in the second round of the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
After a devastating injury cut short his season last year, Zverev returned to action earlier this season and started from scratch. The first few months were quite tough with a semifinal in Dubai being his best result. The German then slowly started to find his footing and made it to the last four at the French Open.
Zverev's journey at Wimbledon came to an end in the third round, but he captured his first title of the season at the Hamburg Open after that. Following a semifinal showing in Cincinnati, he made it to the quarterfinals of the US Open. He run in New York pushed him back into the top 10 of the rankings.
Zverev nabbed his second title of the season at the Chengdu Open. He advanced to the semifinals of the China Open the following week, where Daniil Medvedev ended his unbeaten run. As a seeded player, he received a first-round bye in Shanghai.
Safiullin, meanwhile, was up against three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in the first round. The Russian secured a break of serve at the very start of the match and concluded the set in the same way. He broke the Brit's serve in the final game of the first set to take it.
Safiullin drew first blood in the second set as well to go 2-0 up. Murray broke back to make it 2-1, but his resistance crumbled after this point. The Russian swept four of the next five games to win the match 6-3, 6-2.
Alexander Zverev vs Roman Safiullin head-to-head
Zverev leads Safiullin 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter at in the final of the 2023 Chengdu Open in three sets.
Alexander Zverev vs Roman Safiullin odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Alexander Zverev vs Roman Safiullin prediction
Safiullin played a pretty good match to oust Murray in the first round, striking 27 winners in all in contrast to 11 unforced errors. After giving Zverev a tough fight in the final of the Chengdu Open just a couple of weeks ago, the stage is set for an exciting rematch between them.
Their last match was a rather close affair, with Zverev's serve helping him out quite a lot that day. He fired 10 aces and won 72% of his first serve points. A similar performance could give him the edge once again.
Despite a commendable effort against Zverev, Safiullin's overall season has been quite average. The German, on the other hand, has gotten better as the year has progressed. Given their form, the 26-year-old will be expected to make it through this clash.
Pick: Alexander Zverev to win in straight sets.