tennis | Thursday, January 5, 2023 8:41 AM (Revised at: Thursday, January 5, 2023 8:42 AM)

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Adelaide, Botic van de Zandschulp vs Maximilian Marterer

Jon Reid

Alexei Popyrin vs Marcos Giron Best Bet: Thursday, January 5th

Nice win from Alexei Popyrin, who came back from a set down (always nice to have those go our way) to beat American Marcos Giron and set himself up to play Yoshihito Nishioka in the next round of the Adelaide singles draw.

For our Thursday selection, we’ll head to the less-heralded event in Pune, India to preview the match between Botic van de Zandschulp and Maximilian Marterer.

In this article:

Botic van de Zandschulp vs Maximilian Marterer Preview
Botic van de Zandschulp vs Maximilian Marterer Best Bet

Botic van de Zandschulp vs Maximilian Marterer Preview

January 5th, TBD (UK Time)

It has been a lovely week for the 27-year-old Maximilian Marterer, who is now into the quarterfinals as a qualifier, with wins as an underdog over Elias Ymer and Laslo Djere in the opening two rounds.

Pune is certainly the event where the German should thrive. It tends to attract a weaker player field due to its proximity on the calendar to the Australian Open (most big names prefer to head right to Australia for their tuneup events), as well as the fact that the courts are generally on the quicker side of things, and Pune is played at about 550 metres of altitude.

With a big, lefty serve and strong forehand, Marterer is able to accumulate plenty of cheap, quick points, and put the pressure on his opposition to hold serve. In fact, in his four matches in Pune, his ace rate has been an astounding 17.5% or higher on three occasions, while he’s won an overwhelming number of points behind his first serve.

Van de Zandschulp also possesses a decent serve and plays some strong tennis from the baseline, and is obviously the player that is ranked much higher. I can understand him being the favourite in this matchup, but I’m not sure it’s going to be as one-sided as the odds would suggest.

Botic van de Zandschulp vs Maximilian Marterer Best Bet

I think in a match like this in neutral conditions, the total being 22 or 22.5 games would make sense. When you factor in quicker courts, the elevation the event is played at, and an in-form underdog with a strong serve that has been clicking this week, I’m more than happy to back the match to go over 22.5 games.

I’m also going to stake a small position backing the big German to emerge victorious and keep his run of wins as an underdog going, given the price being over 3.00.