Sebastian Korda vs Botic van de Zandschulp Prediction, Stats, Form, H2H, February 28th

For our first preview of Wednesday’s action, it’s off to the ATP 500 Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships.

I’m interested in an angle in Sebastian Korda vs Botic van de Zandschulp, in a match that features two guys who could desperately use a deep run and consecutive wins at a tournament.

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Our Korda vs van de Zandschulp prediction is for Korda to cover the -3 game handicap.

In this article:

• Sebastian Korda vs Botic van de Zandschulp Prediction
• Sebastian Korda Recent Form
• Botic van de Zandschulp Recent Form
• Sebastian Korda vs Botic van de Zandschulp H2H Stat of the Match
• Safer Gambling

Sebastian Korda vs Botic van de Zandschulp Prediction: Korda Too Strong and Well Rounded for van de Zandschulp

• Prediction: Korda -3 Games
• Best Odds: 1.98
• Bookmaker: Pinnacle
• Stakes: 3/10

Odds as at 2:00 am UK Time on February 28th, 2024. Odds may now differ.

Hard to really devise a game plan here for van de Zandschulp. He can’t really look to outlast Korda, since he’s the player more likely to hit an unforced error in neutral rallies for me.

He can’t try to power through Korda, who possesses the much larger groundstrokes.

This seems like the perfect tournament for Korda to finally kickstart his 2024 season. He’s been dealt some tough early-round draws to start the year, having played Andrey Rublev in the first week in Melbourne, the red-hot Grigor Dimitrov in the second round in Marseille and the in-form Alex de Minaur in his opening match in Rotterdam.

There’s no reason he shouldn’t progress through this one either. He’s just a level above the 28-year-old from the central part of the Netherlands.

Read on for more expert insights.

Sebastian Korda Recent Form

When looking at Korda’s form this year, there’s a bit of a “tough draw” issue that we saw when we looked over Lorenzo Sonego’s resume for the early stages of 2024, but with Korda, there are also some wins that you would’ve expected to be a bit more routine.

He’s been a difficult player to get a hold on to this point, but we do know he’s an extremely talented player.

Despite what has seemed like a slew of injuries in his young career, the American has already reached the top-25 in the world rankings and currently sits inside the top-35 at No. 33.

He is pure from the baseline, where his groundstrokes allow him to really dictate play when he’s on the front foot. The serve leaves a little to be desired considering his height, but that is something that can be worked on and improved (just ask a certain Jannik Sinner).

Where I really think Korda has the advantage in this matchup is on the backhand side. He has a top-notch backhand, while van de Zandschulp is prone to breaking down and sending a ball into the net or sailing long once you force him to hit four or five balls from that wing.

Further, Korda may not have the biggest serve out there, but he won’t exactly be overmatched in that category and is constantly faced with pressure while he struggles to generate it himself.

His Dutch opponent has a crisp first serve and can hit some nice groundstrokes, but he doesn’t possess much raw power and he’s also forced to hit into small targets on the court to control points. That can make him look like a really precise shotmaker at times. It can also make him look erratic when he’s missing those spots by a little bit.

I’ll back Korda as the better player who won’t exactly be overwhelmed in a match against a player much less tough than many who have beaten him so far in 2024.

Botic van de Zandschulp Recent Form

Van de Zandschulp has struggled a bit more than Korda, and that isn’t all that much of a shock.

Sure, his career-high placed him inside the top 25 in the world, but I’d argue his level is much closer to his current rank of 75 than it is to being a top 25 player. While tall, his first serve isn’t as dominant as you’d like it to be. He also hits far too many loose errors from both wings, but his backhand in particular can be broken down.

If you asked me what he does well, I’d say he’s pretty solid at just about everything, but far more prone to mistakes than playing at a redline, top-end level.

His record to this point in 2024 backs that up. He’s just 3-5 overall outside of Davis Cup this year, with some pretty poor losses to Gael Monfils and Alejandro Tabilo.

He did serve very well in beating Adrian Mannarino in the opening round, but even that match was a very close one and featured a Mannarino that wasn’t too pleased with the windy conditions the match was being played in.

Sebastian Korda vs Botic van de Zandschulp H2H – Stat of the Match

These two have played three times, with each of them winning one match on the dirt. Van de Zandschulp won the lone match on hard courts, but that came in 2021, and took place indoors in St. Petersburg and wasn’t played on comparable courts.

Statistically, Korda has the better blended hard court elo rating by about 70 points.

SAFER GAMBLING

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