Botic van de Zandschulp vs Joao Sousa 9/27/22 Tel Aviv Tennis Picks, Predictions, Odds

Botic van de Zandschulp will meet Joao Sousa in the First Round of the 2022 Tel Aviv Open. The match will be played on Tuesday September 27th, 2022 at 5:00am EST.

Botic van de Zandschulp is the fifth seed here at the 2022 Tel Aviv Open and is ranked 35th in the world. The big Dutchman has been extremely solid and consistent over the past few seasons, especially on this surface. In what has been a successful season, he has made one ATP Final and three Semis, and showed his ability during the recent Davis Cup ties, defeating higher ranked players such as Taylor Fritz and Cameron Norrie without losing a set. When he is on he can be very difficult to beat, and has no real weaknesses in his game, other than the fact that he seems to lose focus for long stretches at a time in certain situations. He is the big favorite here against Joao Sousa who is better suited to the clay, and he will expect to move on here in Tel Aviv.

Joao Sousa is ranked 61st in the world, a far cry from his former top 30 status. The Portuguese star has had a very inconsistent season to say the least, sitting on a 13-17 win/loss record with the vast majority of those wins coming in two tournaments, when he made the Finals in Pune and Geneva. That makes him both a dangerous opponent and difficult to trust, with him being the definition of a hot and cold player, just as likely to lose in the First Round as to go deep into the draw. He is up against it here in Tel Aviv, having to face the rock-solid Botic van de Zandschulp, and his lack of a major weapon will make it tough to get a result here.

Joao Sousa is one of those players that you never know what to expect from them, and as a result he is terribly difficult to back. Botic van de Zandschulp has been extremely consistent so he is the clear pick here, especially with his solid record on hard courts. Sousa is talented enough to produce the upset, but his losing record on the year suggests that will be a long shot. Back the Dutchman here, he has proven himself to be very reliable, especially in the early rounds of tournaments and his recent form makes him the easy pick. Van de Zandschulp in two close sets is my pick here in Tel Aviv.