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Match details
Fixture: (GER) Alexander Zverev vs (CZE) Jiri Lehecka
Date: 31 December 2022
Tournament: United Cup 2023
Round: Group stage
Venue: Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, Australia
Category: United Cup
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $15,000,000
Match timing: (Dec 31) 10 am local time, 4:30 am IST, (Dec 30) 6 pm EST & 11 pm GMT
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Australia - 9Now & Stan Sport | UK & India - United Cup YouTube channel
Alexander Zverev vs Jiri Lehecka preview
World No. 12 Alexander Zverev will take on Jiri Lehecka in the group stage of the 2023 United Cup on Saturday.
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The previous season was a rather difficult one for Zverev. His Australian Open challenge ended in the fourth round. A quarterfinal showing at the Miami Open was his other notable result in the early months of 2022.
The German then mounted a successful clay campaign. He reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo and Rome and made it to the final in Madrid, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. At the French Open, he made it to the last four. He gave Rafael Nadal a tough fight but sustained an injury that forced him to quit midway through the contest. He needed to get surgery for the same and was sidelined for the rest of the year.
Zverev returned to action at a couple of exhibition events in December. He defeated Dominic Thiem but lost to Daniil Medvedev at the Diriyah Tennis Cup. He then competed in the World Tennis League as part of Team Hawks and scored wins over Novak Djokovic and Andreas Seppi in singles, which helped his team reach the final.
The 25-year-old lost his singles tie against Felix Auger-Aliassime, but his team still managed to win the title.
Lehecka commenced his United Cup campaign against USA's Taylor Fritz. He went down an early break to trail 3-0 in the first set, from which he never managed to recover. The Czech tried his best, but the set got away from him.
Lehecka managed to keep up with Fritz at the start of the second set but buckled under pressure towards the end. He lost the last three games in a row as the American defeated him 6-3, 6-4.
Alexander Zverev vs Jiri Lehecka head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0.
Alexander Zverev vs Jiri Lehecka odds
(Odds sourced from BetMGM)
Alexander Zverev vs Jiri Lehecka prediction
Zverev has looked pretty decent following his comeback from an injury hiatus. After undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments in his ankles, his movement was a cause of concern, but so far he has looked quite agile. The German's groundstrokes also looked fine, but his serve remained a liability.
But so far he has only competed in exhibition matches and this will be his first official match in more than six months. The pressure of a competitive match is a whole different ballgame.
For Lehecka, his match against Fritz was a learning experience. The youngster still needs to hone his skills a bit more before he's able to give higher-ranked players a run for their money. While Zverev is still a little rusty, he should be able to do enough to edge past the Czech player.
Pick: Alexander Zverev to win in straight sets.
