Alexander Zverev vs Alexandre Muller Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Muller worth a punt at big value in Hamburg

Keeping a spade a spade, Zverev is only in Hamburg right now due to a generous appearance fee and the fact tournament organisers pleaded with him to basically save their event after Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune and Tommy Paul all pulled out at the last-minute. Zverev, who is defending French Open runner-up points and harbours ambitions of going one step further over the next fortnight, doesn't want to in Hamburg on the weekend. That's horrible preparation, especially for a player who has been in poor form for most of the year.

One more match is probably the limit for Zverev, but I'm still keen to put some small stakes on Muller here. The Frenchman is having a career-best season, winning his maiden ATP title and cracking the top 40 for the first time. Muller hasn't won a set in his two previous meetings with Zverev, but this isn't normal circumstances. At $7.50, Muller is worth a punt.

Zverev leads 2-0, winning their second round US Open clash in 2024 and first round encounter in Munich earlier this season in straight sets.

Zverev has improved his season record to 25-9 coming into this clash, but it's fair to say his form is still well below his best.

The German has restored some confidence with a title in Munich and a quarter-final run in Rome over the last month, but it's not the usual high standard we expect from Zverev, who was the defending champion in the latter before going down to Lorenzo Musetti.

Doing tournament organisers a favour (and financially benefitting from it too), Zverev has opted to compete at home in Hamburg this week. The tournament used to be played after Wimbledon, allowing Zverev to play without the concerns of a slam looming in the following week.

After defeating Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-1 7-6 in his opening round, Zverev has now won 13 of his last 15 matches in Hamburg.

Muller is putting together a career-best season, coming into this showdown with a 16-11 record and rising to a career-high No. 39 in the world.

The Frenchman won his maiden ATP title to kick off the year in style in Hong Kong, while he was also a finalist on the clay of Rio de Janeiro.

Muller reached the third round of the Madrid Masters and defeated Jiri Lehecka to make the second round in Rome for a pair of solid results in his last two tournaments.

The 28-year-old registered a 6-3 7-5 win over Elias Ymer for his first career win in Hamburg earlier in the week.