Here's a pairing that's more lopsided than a pancake cooked on a hill. We've got Alexander Zverev, hailing from the heavens of seed number two, squaring off against Mattia Bellucci, an unseeded upstart who clearly didn't get the memo about the ranking system.
Looking at Zverev's recent games, he's been more consistent than a Swiss watch, only losing his latest match against Fritz T., with an impressive record of overpowering his adversaries. Slapping around Muller A. in a zesty love session shows he's got what it takes to turn his opponents into whimpering spectators.
On the other hand, we have Bellucci - who's been showing up his opponents like they've forgotten how to play. He's been firing off two-set wins faster than a speeding bullet, only tripping over on his match against Draper J. His reliability's been noteworthy, waltzing in with five victories out of six recent matches. Still, most of his triumphs have been over lesser-known names, minus the majestic Karatsev A.
Now, as much as we adore an underdog story, we're not in the business of fairy tales here. Zverev's record, coupled with him being a second seed beast, boldly points towards his favor. However, don't discount Bellucci to put up a solid fight, since he's been showing form that could make even a stone statue take notice. Still, the scales are heavily leaning towards Zverev.
I reckon Zverev's superiority and experience on the battlefield will eventually force Bellucci to capitulate. Yet, I expect Bellucci to put up a crackling performance before Zverev wriggles his way to victory.
Albert’s Prediction: Zverev in 3 sets.