Dominic Thiem walked a fine line through the first round of the 2023 ATP Antwerp draw. He survived a match against Luca Nardi of Italy. Next, Thiem will face Yannick Hanfmann in a second-round match in the tournament, a competition that is also known as the 2023 European Open. This is a match that will be played on Thursday with a start time in the afternoon in Europe. My Thiem vs Hanfmann prediction is that the former will win the match to stay alive in this week’s Antwerp draw.
Schedule of Play: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Dominic Thiem vs Yannick Hanfmann Head-to-Head Series
This is a match between the World No. 86, Thiem, and the World No. 56. It is also a match between two veterans on tour. Thiem is 30 years old while Hanfmann is 31. They have met just one time in the past, a match that Hanfmann won on clay in 2022.
Thiem, a former US Open champion, was in a draw a few weeks ago at the 250-level. This was an event where he went out in the quarterfinals — and only to Sebastian Ofner. Thiem also lost in a challenger event not too long ago, this time to a player ranked 164th in the world.
If you back to the US Open this season, Thiem was injured in Flushing Meadows. Whenever you are dealing with a player of Thiem’s caliber there is always a chance that he hits a high level of tennis at anytime. But following his first-round tight-rope walk, you wouldn’t think that Thiem would be winning the Antwerp title this week.
Yannick Hanfmann (Nickname suggestion: Hanfmann Hanf-Amazing) has not had much going for him lately. He went out early in Shanghai despite a draw where he could have stuck around for a little longer. Some of his match wins lately have been in qualifying draws but, at least, he has beaten some players ranked higher than Thiem. But this is a heads-or-tails match, with each player set at -110 on the moneyline.
The Draw: Right-click/Open in the New Tab for the draw for the 2023 European Open
Thiem vs Hanfmann Prediction: Thiem to advance
In this kind of match, where you can’t tell the difference between two struggling players, you just have to go with the higher IQ. Thiem, when judged in terms of pure talent, is a much better player than Hanfmann, in fact, it’s not really even close. I would rather have Thiem struggling to win matches than Hanfmann struggling to win just because the former has a higher ceiling. My recommendation is to take the Austrian to win in a match where each player is priced at -110 on the moneyline (bet365).
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