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Fixture: Dominic Thiem vs Zhizhen Zhang
Tournament: Generali Open 2023
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Date: August 2, 2023
Venue: Kitzbuhel, Austria
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Clay
Prize money: €562,815
Live telecast:- USA: Tennis Channel | UK: Amazon Prime | Australia: beIN Sports | Canada: TSN
Dominic Thiem vs Zhizhen Zhang preview
Wildcard Dominic Thiem takes on the unseeded Chinese Zhizhen Zhang for a place in the Generali Open quarterfinals in Kitzbuhel.
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World No. 116 Thiem faced a tough opener against Argentina's Facundo Bagnis. It was eventually a straight-set win for the 2020 US Open champion, but the win was anything but straightforward, with Thiem needing two tiebreaks to advance.
The Austrian had to dig deep, saving a combined seven set points across both sets. Five of them came on serve at 4-5 in the first set, where he recovered from a 4-2 deficit, while the other two came in the second set tiebreak.
Having started the season with a 1-9 win-loss record, Thiem has survived the first-round hurdle at three straight tournaments to improve to 10-17 in 2023. The 2019 Kitzbuhel champion is now 15-8 at the event, having reached the quarterfinals last year.
Meanwhile, the 53rd-ranked Zhang marked his Kitzbuhel debut with a comfortable win against seventh-seed Dusan Lajovic. After conceding three games in the opener, Zhang was more ruthless in the second, dropping two games, as he improved to 12-11 on the season.
The 26-year-old is coming off an impressive semifinal run at Hamburg last week, losing to eventual finalist Laslo Djere. Zhang is looking to reach his third claycourt quarterfinal of the season, having also done so at Madrid.
Dominic Thiem vs Zhizhen Zhang head-to-head
Thiem won their lone meeting in the second round at 2019 Beijing in straight sets. This will be their first claycourt clash.
Dominic Thiem vs Zhizhen Zhang odds
(Odds will be updated when available)
Dominic Thiem vs Zhizhen Zhang prediction
Both Thiem and Zhang are quintessential baseliners and have similar game styles: big serve, powerful hitting off either flank, and good movement.
The matchup looks like a mismatch on paper, owing to the gulf in experience, consistency, and claycourt pedigree between the two. While Thiem is 163-70 on the surface, winning ten titles, Zhang is only 12-7.
However, Thiem has largely struggled this year following a long injury layoff while Zhang has had encouraging results on clay. The Chinese player also had a far easier opening round this week than Thiem.
Nevertheless, considering Thiem's claycourt pedigree, the Austrian should take a hard-fought win.
Pick: Thiem to win in three sets.
