These days, it is becoming much harder to get value out of top junior players since the market is catching up on them quicker and quicker. There might be a rare exception in today’s qualifying match between Belgian Alexander Blockx and Zachary Svajda from the United States.
The latter had a sublime fall of 2023 as he won three Challenger events in the span of five weeks, establishing himself in the top 150 of the rankings. Svajda undoubtedly is one of the better prospects the US have produced over the past few years. The same can be said about Blockx though, except for the country part. The 18-year-old has won the boys’ Australian Open last year, beating three top talents in a row in Joao Fonseca, Zhou Yi and Learner Tien. He’s a former junior world #1 and has had success in late 2023 too, beating quality players such as Hamad Medjedovic, Billy Harris, Corentin Moutet or Jakub Mensik.
The quick conditions should help him against Svajda, who has the ability to outgrind opponents. This may be the case here too, however, I cannot have the American at north of 70% to win this match. To me, Blockx has every chance to keep this close and even win the match. I’d still take the Belgian at 2.50 and a 3.0 games handicap.
Suggested Bets:
0.5u on Alexander Blockx ML at 2.93 (+193) with Pinnacle
1u on Alexander Blockx +3.5 at 1.97 (-103) with Pinnacle
Over 18s Only (21+ in some jurisdictions). 1 unit = 1% of bankroll. These are my bets that I am making. Please enjoy your betting responsibly. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, and do not chase a loss.