Zhizhen Zhang, who bested Hubert Hurkacz in the opening round, will face Aslav Karatsev at the 2023 ATP Tokyo tennis event this week. Karatsev himself took out a well-regarded player to open the tournament. He defeated Frances Tiafoe in the opening round in straight sets. The upcoming match will be a round-of-sixteen match in the tournament, a competition that is also known as the 2023 Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships. My Zhang vs Karatsev prediction is that the former player will win this match.

Schedule: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change

Zhang vs Karatsev Head-to-Head Series

These two players have a similar ranking on tour. Zhang entered the week as the World No. 57 while Karatsev entered the week as the World No. 50. On head-to-head matches, there is nothing between them. They have faced one another twice in the past and split the meetings. Zhang won the only hard-court match between the two while Karatsev won their only match this season, one that was played on clay.

Karatsev could be viewed as being in decent form right now. Taking Tiafoe out of the draw is a minor accomplishment, although the American has not been at his best since the US Open. Karatsev also has wins over Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie in recent tournaments.

Zhang’s win over Hurkacz must be taken lightly. Hurkacz did win the Shanghai Masters title but that is precisely the result that hurt his preparation for Tokyo. The Polish player played loads of tennis last week and he had mobility problems late in the match against Zhang.

But Zhang was in the round of sixteen in Shangai, where he lost to Hurkacz in a third-set tiebreaker. The Chinese national could be viewed as a bit better than his ranking right now while also noting US Open victories over both JJ Wolf and Casper Ruud.

The Draw: Right-click/Open in the New Tab for the draw for the 2023 Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships

Zhang vs Karatsev Prediction: Zhang wins

This match is coming in as a coin toss by betting odds. Zhang and Karatsev are each at -110 on the moneyline (bet365).

This is a match to tread lightly with a bet on Zhang. He had a tough match in the first round but he should be fine in the second round. For instance, he played a very tough match in the first round of the US Open and still had enough in the tank to beat Casper Ruud in the second round of the Grand Slam. Also, Zhang appears to be heading toward the Top 40 while Karatsev has been on the slide since achieving his career-high ranking in 2022.

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