The ATP 250 action heads to Belgium on Monday for the start of the 2023 European Open in Antwerp.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed going into the competition and the Greek star will be hoping to add to his 10 career singles titles in Belgium.
European Open Betting Tips
Stefanos Tsitsipas to win outright @ 11/4
Currently sat at number six in the world rankings, 2021 French Open finalist Tsitsipas will be hoping to climb even higher up the standings before the turn of the year.
Victory at the European Open would certainly help and his previous success on hard courts bodes well for the man from Athens.
Tsitsipas’ first title came on hard courts in Stockholm back in 2018 and his last title earlier this year at Los Cabos was on the same surface.
The 25-year-old, who has also shone on clay, started this year by reaching the Australian Open final for the first time and he will be eager to finish the campaign with form before heading back to Melbourne in January.
Dominic Stricker to beat Botic van de Zandschulp @ 11/10
With the goal of facing Tsitsipas in the second round of the competition, Dominic Stricker and Botic van de Zandschulp will go head-to-head in the first round.
Stricker and Van de Zandschulp have only met on one previous occasion and that was in Antwerp on the indoor hard court in 2022.
It was Swiss star Stricker who managed to come out on top with a 6-2 6-4 victory and he’s well-priced at 11/10 to come out on top against the Dutchman once again.
Van de Zandschulp has not been in the best form of late, after a first-round exit in Astana was followed up by a second-round exit in Shanghai last time out.
Stricker can take advantage of the 28-year-old’s dip in form and might well be able to set up a second-round clash with Tsitsipas, who has a first-round bye, in Antwerp.
There are certainly other serious contenders for the title in Antwerp, with the likes of David Goffin and Dominic Thiem having ambitions to go all the way.
Belgian star Goffin, who will have plenty of support from the home crowd, is set to face France’s Quentin Halys in their opening round clash.
Thiem has an intriguing opening encounter of his own against Italy’s rising star Luca Nardi, who just reached the semi-finals of the Bratislava Open before defeat to Belgium’s Joris De Loore.
Despite the threats from both Goffin and Thiem, Tsitsipas has the game to be able to shine on the hard courts in Belgium and might well be able to add to his 10 career titles by the River Scheldt.
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