Football 
Tennis 
Horse Racing Hubert Hurkacz vs Zhizhen Zhang Rolex Shanghai Masters Expert Tip: Zhang in With a Chance to Reach Final 8
Hubert Hurkacz vs Zhizhen Zhang (Rolex Shanghai Masters): Tuesday, October 10th
A nice underdog win for our preview on Monday, as Ugo Humbert sent Stefanos Tsitsipas in a close match, much like I expected.
The Rolex Shanghai Master rolls continues on Tuesday, with a quartet of matches from the ATP Masters event. Let’s look at Hubert Hurkacz vs Zhizhen Zhang.
For more daily tennis tips, visit the bettingexpert community, but if you want more expert tips from Jon Reid, visit our Expert Insights section.
In this article:
- Hubert Hurkacz vs Zhizhen Zhang Expert Tip
- Hubert Hurkacz Recent Form
- Zhizhen Zhang Recent Form
- Hubert Hurkacz vs Zhizhen Zhang H2H Stat of the Match
- Gamble Responsibly
Hubert Hurkacz vs Zhizhen Zhang Expert Tip
Whenever I get the chance to oppose Hurkacz on a relatively quick court against a competent player on that surface at high odds, I like to take it.
Whether it’s with the game spread, set spread, over games or to win outright, Hurkacz has a really tough time winning by margin against strong servers in these conditions.
That means it’s more likely than not going to be a close match, and in those instances, odds like 3.00 are just too high.
I’m also a fan of the way Zhang has played to this point in Shanghai, and has been supported consistently by the home crowd.
Odds as at 2:00 am UK Time on October 10th, 2023. Odds may now differ.
Read on for more expert insights.
Hubert Hurkacz Recent Form
Other than his run to the semifinals in Cincinnati, we haven’t seen a whole lot of success from Hurkacz since Wimbledon.
As far as his serve can take him when it’s clicking (it is one of the best in the world, to be fair), his return game is nearly as limiting in terms of his success rate.
Here in Shanghai, he’s picked up wins against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Yu Hsiou Hsu by three and four games, respectively.
Neither is near the calibre of player than Zhang is, and neither looked as strong this week either.
Hurkacz has managed to come through his fair share of close matches in the past and could do so again, but probability wise, he’s overvalued for me at this price.
Zhizhen Zhang Recent Form
Being back on Asian hard courts has done wonders for Zhang’s game in the last few weeks. After a pair of strong wins as a sizable underdog at the U.S. Open, he’s won a gold medal at the Asian Games (albeit with most matches coming against less-than-stellar opposition) and has now won his first three contests in Shanghai, as his form continues to build.
Zhang plays an incredibly aggressive style that features big hitting and a flatter ball, both well suited for success on the courts in Shanghai. Shorter points also help him limit his unforced error count, and he’s playing someone who isn’t exactly the best at stretching points out.
I’ve also had the chance to watch a few of Zhang’s matches to this point in Shanghai, and what’s impressed me most is his patience and the willingness to wait for an open window to finish points in, instead of forcing things from low margin for error positions.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Zhizhen Zhang H2H – Stat of the Match
The only other time these two have played just happens to be back in 2019 at this tournament. Hurkacz won that match, but there are a few caveats.
For starters, Zhang is having a career year in 2023 and is a much, much better player than he was four years ago.
The second caveat is that even that match was decided by a single-break margin, as it went 7-6, 6-4 to the Pole.
With Zhang an improved player, more athletic and playing a more controlled style, I’m happy to back him to get another win on home soil.
SAFER GAMBLING
At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.
