Just when you thought chicken soup cures all, I present to you, this knockout fest between Ugo Humbert and Alexander Zverev. I mean, who needs gentle stimulation when you can have the tennis equivalent of a rollercoaster ride? This crackerjack of a pairing is about as exciting as mismatched socks, if the socks were packed with nitro.
Absorbing the past head-to-heads, this matchup starts to look like a rerun of your favorite sitcom. Zverev, the world number 2 has, quite unequivocally, given Humbert the Lex Luthor treatment in previous encounters. In fact, Zverev has sent him packing without allowing him even the whiff of a tie breaker, not once but twice.
Zverev is plowing through opponents like a hot knife through butter, bagel-ing them into submission, while Humbert's recent performances are more of a mixed bag, struggling at times, and likely to leave you in suspense but not for the right reasons.
In Melbourne Park, where the court speed setting is 'catch me if you can', Zverev's aggressive style that employs various spins would work like a Swiss watch. Humbert, on the other hand, may be about as comfortable here as a slug in a salt mine, given his less aggressive game style.
So, unless Zverev mistakes the tournament for a charity drive and decides to gift games away, or maybe Humbert stumbles upon a four-leaf clover on his way to the match, Zverev's winning esteems would be a poorly kept secret.
Albert’s Prediction: Zverev in 3 sets