Hey, is he still playing Kukush?

The Kazakh benefits from his little annual toilet at home to come and piss off guys in the first round.

Last season Kukushkin did well here against a future finalist Tsitsipas. The indoor conditions are not to its advantage but be careful the surface is very slow like every year. He has time to settle down his game and with his flat shots he can put matches to sleep. Although back down in the rankings, his 2023 season is not bad with two hard-court finals. A tricky game for his opponents, his profile is atypical and he can upset people, especially guys who don't have confidence. In this case this is the case for Borges who remains on 8 defeats in his last 10 matches. A small start in the Davis Cup and after that he jumped to the first round in China. Two titles in challenge at the start of the year and since then it's been nothing, not bad on a fast surface when he can rely on his serve and his forehand. When he has to work harder and create opportunities for himself he has a lot more difficulty, this is typically what he will have to do to beat Kukushkin, the Kazakh is not going to give him much and do his undermining work.