The first half of the fourth-round ties of Australian Open 2021 has come to an end. Now the second half features a heavyweight clash between World No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas and World No.10 Matteo Berrettini.

We are onto the second week of the Australian Open and this puts the Top-10 players against each other. Now Tsitsipas and Berrettini find themselves in the same half as Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal. The winner of Tsitsipas-Berrettini could potentially face Nadal in the quarters.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Matteo Berrettini: Preview

Stefanos Tsitsipas comes into the fourth round clash with a good Aussie Open run so far. In his first three rounds, he has been challenged only in one match and the rest have been smooth sailing.

First, he defeated former World No.6 Gilles Simon in straight sets, only dropping four games in the match. In his second round though, Tsitsipas was caught by Thanasi Kokkinakis.

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Kokkinakis’ huge forehand and sharp serve proved to be the tough part for Tsitsipas. The Greek wasn’t allowed to be as aggressive as he wanted. But superior fitness and experience gave Tsitsipas the victory in five sets.

But Tsitsipas returned to his best against Swedish player Mikael Ymer. Here he just dropped six games en route to an easy third-round victory.

Berrettini, on the other hand, hasn’t had a roller coaster so far. He has looked like his old self after a disappointing 2020 season.

In the three rounds so far, he has dropped only one set. In the first round, he beat 2-time Grand Slam runner-up Kevin Anderson.

In the second round, he dropped a set but got through in four sets against Czech qualifier Tomas Machac. But his best victory came against former World No.1o Karen Khachanov in the third round. Berrettini won in straight sets with a hat-trick of tiebreakers.

Tsitsipas vs Berrettini: Head-to-Head

Matteo Berrettini and Stefanos Tsitsipas have faced each other once. Back in the first round of the 2019 Australian Open, Tsitsipas defeated Berrettini in four sets. 2019 also was the year when Tsitsipas went on to defeat 2-time defending champion, Roger Federer, en route to a semifinal finish.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Matteo Berrettini: Prediction

During his third-round match, Berrettini apparently suffered a rib injury and had a medical timeout. After the match, the Italian struggled to explain what had happened and was pessimistic about recovery. This could pose a danger to his serve and potent forehand.

Against Kokkinakis, Tsitsipas became predictable and was pushed to be defensive by the Australian’s tough serve and forehand. It could happen against Berrettini as well. But Berrettini has a rather weak backhand, and as Tsitsipas pulls the trigger fast, he could trouble Berrettini.

But Tsitsipas’ fitness will be key. And his high winner’s pedigree can trouble Berrettini’s strong forehand. Tsitsipas is the favorite going into this heavyweight clash.

Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas wins in four sets

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