Davis Cup semifinals (played on the indoor hard courts)
Germany – Netherlands: 22.11.2024 17:00 CEST
H2H: 0-1
1st potential matchup:
Altmaier – Botic Van de Zandschulp
Daniel and Botic are the second best ranked players for Germany and the Netherlands. Altmaier has won three of his last five matches. Last week in Belgrade, the German reached the 1/8-Finals, where he lost against O’Connell in straight sets. Here in Malaga, Altmaier won his opening Davis Cup match against Diallo in straight sets. The German had a great serving performance, and played aggressively well throughout the whole match. Botic Van de Zandschulp has won three of his last five matches. His last match before the Davis Cup was in Paris, where he failed to qualify for the main-draw tournament. Here in Malaga, Botic defeated Nadal in straight sets. This was the last match for Rafael, who has now officially retired from professional tennis. So far this season, Botic has struggled on the court and looked unmotivated. He even went back to the challenger level to regain his form and get some confidence back. Van de Zandschulp is currently lurking around the top 80 in the rankings.
We believe that Botic Van de Zandschulp is a more experienced player than Altmaier at this level. Both players played solidly in their first matches. Both players struggled this season. However, we believe that under these conditions, Botic will be a better player and win this match.
That being said, we expect Botic Van de Zandschulp to get the first win for the Netherlands.
2nd potential matchup:
Struff – Griekspoor
Jan-Lennard Struff has won three of his last five matches. Two weeks ago in Metz, Struff reached the 1/8-Finals, where he was stopped by Moutet in three sets. Here in Malaga, Jan won his opening match against Shapovalov in three tight sets, after spending over two hours on the court. After losing the first set 4-6, Jan stepped up his level, and turned the match around. So far this season, the German has had his biggest results on the clay courts. However, he underperformed on the fast courts such as this one. Tallon Griekspoor has lost four of his last five matches. His last match before the Davis Cup was in Paris, where he lost his second round match against Zverev in tight straight sets. Here in Malaga, Tallon put up a battle against Alcaraz. He lost in straight sets, but kept the match tight for most of the time. Griekspoor loves to play on the indoor courts, where he usually delivers his best tennis.
We believe that at this moment, Griekspoor is a better hard-court player than Struff. Tallon had some solid performances this season in the indoor tournaments. On the other hand, Struff had no success whatsoever in the indoor tournaments.
We expect Griekspoor to get the second win for the Netherlands and qualify them into the semifinals.
Best Bet to Make
According to the bookies, this should be a 50-50 meeting. However, we believe that the Netherlands currently have better singles players than Germany. Without Alexander Zverev, we believe that Germany would have no chance against the Netherlands.
That being said, the Netherlands winning is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Netherlands winning @1.83 @bet365
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
