Tallon Griekspoor seeks a shock Shanghai Masters success against Alexander Zverev when the pair clash in Tuesday's third-round match.
The Dutchman has enjoyed consecutive victories ahead of his sixth match-up with the German superstar, who is bidding to claim his seventh Masters 1000 crown and 23rd tour-level title after securing his first victory in Shanghai since 2019.
Match preview
© Imago
Having come through a ropey first-round performance against Facundo Diaz Acosta, Griekspoor played cleaner tennis to defeat 26th seed Jordan Thompson in straight sets to advance to the third round in Shanghai.
The 28-year-old fired 10 aces past his Australian opponent and saved four break points to avoid complications on serve and took advantage of seven chances on returns to strike three times in his 6-3, 6-2 success.
Defeating his Argentine opponent in his tournament opener marked Griekspoor's first triumph in Shanghai following last year's early elimination to Dusan Lajovic and the Dutch player followed it up with Monday's commendable success at Thompson's expense to set up round-three's tussle with Zverev.
Having come into the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai on the back of early exits in Canada and Cincinnati, the world No. 40 has given himself a chance to end his losing run against the third seed based on his momentum.
Zverev skipped the China Open because of pneumonia but showed no signs of illness in his 6-4, 6-2 victory against Mattia Bellucci.
Although he double-faulted twice, the world No. 3 matched his opponent's ace count (seven) and landed 70% of his first serves in his tournament-opening victory.
Winning 86% of first serve points to his opponent's 63% and 62% on seconds to Bellucci's 48% further highlighted the chasm in quality in both players, with Zverev avoiding a shock elimination.
While the 27-year-old might have been disappointed to convert just three of 10 break points, that was enough to notch a second-round triumph, and the 22-time champion on the ATP Tour aims to build on that success.
He has had the upper hand recent matches against Griekspoor and enters Tuesday as the favourite to advance at the Dutchman's expense.
Tournament so far
Tallon Griekspoor:
First round: vs. Facundo Diaz Acosta 6-4 6-7[6] 6-3
Second round: vs. Jordan Thompson 6-3 6-2
Alexander Zverev:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Mattia Bellucci 6-4 6-2
Head To Head
Roland Garros (2024) - Third round: Zverev 3-6 6-4 6-2 4-6 7-6(3)
Indian Wells (2024) - Round of 32: Zverev 7-6(7) 6-3
Canadian Open (2023) - Round of 64: Zverev 6-4 7-6(3)
Rotterdam (2023) - Round of 16: Griekspoor 4-6 6-3 6-4
Wimbledon (2021) - First round: Zverev 6-3 6-4 6-1
Zverev has dominated his rivalry with Griezspoor, underscored by notching victories in their last three match-ups to lead their head-to-head 4-1.
Both players have faced off on all surfaces, with the German leading 2-1 on hard courts, where the Dutch player recorded his only triumph against the world No. 3 in last year's three-set success in Rotterdam.
We say: Zverev to win in three sets
While he faced little or no resistance from Bellucci in his tournament-opening victory, Zverev should expect a sterner battle against Griekspoor on Tuesday.
The outcome will depend on how impressively the higher-ranked player serves — the German faced one break point against Bellucci — and how his body holds out against the world No. 40.
Regardless, we back Zverev to advance to take on David Goffin or Marcos Giron in the fourth round.
