Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Matteo Berrettini Prediction: Can Berrettini Make it Hard for Tsitsipas?

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece will meet the 16th-ranked and Italian Matteo Berrettini in the 2023 United Cup semifinals on Saturday, January 7.

It wasn't supposed to be an easy match for Tsitsipas, but he came through in a critical match against Borna Coric to help Greece win their tie against Croatia.

Tsitsipas stayed on court for more over two and a half hours, despite only dropping his serve once during the match, before winning.

The Greek number one hit 20 aces and won 75% of the first serve points, but it didn't stop Coric from winning the match.

Tsitsipas was forced to play a third set despite dominating the first set 6-0 and having a pair of match opportunities in the second. And when he went down 4-2, it appeared that the writing was on the wall.

Tsitsipas came back from there, broke Coric in the seventh game and then again in the 11th to secure the victory.

He had previously defeated Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin in the group rounds.

Italy's hopes in this tournament, like Greece's, are dependent on Berrettini's performances, and while his team did not win their tie against Poland in the Host City Final, the world number 16 made it three triumphs in a row for himself.

Berrettini defeated Hubert Hurkacz in three sets in his last encounter, after knocking out Thiago Monteiro and shocking Casper Ruud in the competition's group stages.

Berrettini defeated Hurkacz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a nearly two-hour encounter, with the Italian's ability to win 64% of his second serve points assisting him.

Berrettini will need to maintain those stats against Tsitsipas, and then pounce on his opponent's serve when given an inch.

On paper, this appears to be a tight match, but Tsitsipas' good record against Berrettini, along with his current form, makes him a strong favorite for us.

• Total Over 23.5 for 1.84
• Handiсap Stefanos Tsitsipas (-2) for 1.9
• Individual Total 2 Under 12.5 for 1.97