A quarter-final place at the Swiss Indoors event is up for grabs when Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Botic van De Zandschulp in Thursday's second-round match.
The Greek player overcame Francisco Cerundolo in three sets, while the qualifier had a seemingly unassailable lead in the decider against Alexander Bublik before the latter's retirement.
Match preview
© Imago
It was a tale of two tie-breaks as Tsitsipas survived a scare against Cerundolo to avoid a tournament-opening exit on Tuesday.
The third seed notched the opening set but could not edge the second-set tie-break before beating the Argentine player by a nose in the decider to eke out a 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(4) victory to advance to the next round and keep his outside chance of making the ATP Finals in Turin.
With the 26-year-old 12th in the live race at the start of Wednesday, only a deep run in Switzerland keeps those faint chances alive, with only four places left to secure, following Daniil Medvedev joining Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.
That increases the pressure on Tsitsipas entering Thursday's match-up, as he aims to avoid similar fates as Tokyo, where he exited early and recently in Antwerp, where he failed to make it to a third match.
The 11-time Tour-level champion might have to be more clinical on break points conjured on his opponent's deliveries, with only three converted from 12 opportunities in the Cerundolo serve, to avoid complications in the last-16 match.
© Imago
Van De Zandschulp's 2024 high came at the final Grand Slam of the year when he stunned Alcaraz, but subsequent main draw results have been mixed.
The 29-year-old was beaten by Matteo Berrettini in Tokyo after coming through qualifying, exited in the second round in Shanghai and recently lost his tournament opener in Antwerp.
Including qualifying to make the main draw in Basel, the Dutchman is on a three-match winning run and should take confidence from beating Bublik on Tuesday, even if the Kazakhstani player was forced into early retirement down 4-0 in the decider.
Except for Challenger events, the Dutch player has not progressed beyond the last 16 of any Tour tournament in 2024, highlighting the challenge facing the world No. 67 on his second ATP Tour match-up with Tsitsipas in Switzerland.
Tournament so far
Stefanos Tsitsipas:
First round: vs. Francisco Cerundolo 6-3 6-7(3) 7-6(4)
Botic van de Zandschulp:
First round: vs. Alexander Bublik 3-6 6-4 4-0 ret
Head To Head
Antwerp (2023) - Round of 16: Tsitsipas 7-5 6-3
Tsitsipas defeated the Dutch player last year in Antwerp, which remains the pair's only meeting on the ATP Tour before Thursday.
The Greek player is 41-20 in 2024, a statistic that outdoes the 29-year-old's 16-24 win-loss record this season.
We say: Tsitsipas to win in two sets
Although deep runs have recently been a rarity for Tsitsipas, the 26-year-old is backed to dispatch the qualifier in two sets to progress to the last eight in Basel and retain his outside chance of making the year-end event in Turin.
