Pick of the Day: Alex de Minaur vs. Alexander Zverev, Roland Garros

The German is one of the best clay-courters in the world, but he's also been on the court for 8.5 hours over his last two matches.

A meeting with De Minaur is also not what you want after two physical matches in a row. He’s one of the most effective baseline grinders on the ATP Tour, and he has a propensity for making his matches as physical as possible. So, don’t be surprised if De Minaur really wears Zverev down here. De Minaur is the fastest player on the planet and is going to chase down absolutely everything. He can also really lengthen this match by hitting with depth and hitting to the Zverev forehand. The German has been reluctant to go big from the forehand side, making it hard for him to end rallies quickly. And the more long rallies we see in this match, the more likely it is that De Minaur will take Zverev’s legs.

De Minaur has also battled with Zverev in each of their last two meetings, so it’s not like this isn’t winnable for the world No. 11. De Minaur actually beat Zverev at the United Cup in January, and he took him to three sets in a competitive loss at Indian Wells in March. When you combine that with the big edge in rest that De Minaur has coming into this one, I just don’t see Zverev running De Minaur off the court. I also think that the changes we have seen to De Minaur’s game allow him to hang around in a matchup like this. He’s no longer an easy player to break, and he has the ability to turn things up and hit for power here and there. Given that, it’s no surprise he is having his most successful season on clay. Let’s hope he finishes it out with another good performance.

Pick: De Minaur +5.5 Games (-141)