tennis | Thursday, November 3, 2022 8:54 AM

Thursday Tennis Best Bet: ATP Paris, Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Corentin Moutet

Jon Reid

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Corentin Moutet Best Bet: Thursday, November 3rd

Lethargic first set from Medvedev does Wednesday’s ATP bet in. He didn’t manage a break point in the set, and never really looked a threat. Looked real strong for the next 10 games, but his fluctuating level cost him and he ended up losing outright.

For Thursday, we stick with the main tour in Paris, as the round of 16 is set, and it’s the match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Corentin Moutet that piques my interest.

In this article:

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Corentin Moutet Preview
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Corentin Moutet Best Bet

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Corentin Moutet Preview

November 3rd, 18:30 UK Time

Great opportunity for another strong week here for Tsitsipas in conditions that surely suit him. After a final appearance on similarly slower indoor hard courts in Kazakhstan (losing only to Novak Djokovic), Tsitsipas is through to the round of 16 here, and sure to fancy his chances to reach the quarters.

For starters, the conditions suit him well. His elite serve can pierce through any court and earn him cheap or free points, his decent, yet not elite movement is much more effective, and his return game – which is strong on clay, but a liability on quicker surfaces – is much more effective. Most importantly, his one-handed backhand has far more time and is much less likely to be rushed into committing errors.

When he takes on a relatively underpowered player that can’t hit through the courts and keep Tsitsipas a step behind on return, he’s prone to absolutely dominate. Such was the case in his opening match of the tournament (he had a bye in the first round, another advantage), where he dispatched Dan Evans in fairly straightforward fashion.

That will once again be the case on Thursday, as he takes on Moutet. The lefty is heavily dependent on defensive play, point construction and spin. Those tactics aren’t typically the recipe for success against the Greek.

In fact, dating back to 2020, almost all of Tsitsipas’ losses to southpaws on hard courts have come against big servers with powerful forehands, who can take advantage of his one-handed backhand. Even then, it’s primarily because Stefanos can’t find the necessary breaks and loses in tiebreaks and 7-5 sets.

That won’t be the case here, as he’ll have plenty of time to line up his shots and seize control of points.

This is a match Tsitsipas will expect to win, and expect to win rather quickly.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Corentin Moutet Best Bet

Finally, while this match may be next to last on the court, another big advantage for Tsitispas is that he was first on court on Wednesday and finished fairly quickly. Moutet? Last on court for the night and played until 3:00 AM in Paris. Factor in the cooldown and recovery processes and the likelihood of him getting to bed at a reasonable hour is infinitesimal. That’s on top of a long, hard-fought first-rounder for the Frenchman as well.

Give me Tsitsipas to roll into the quarterfinals.