The finalist takes the stage

Finalist last year here, Coria has a lot of points to defend this week. The motivation is at its peak but so is the pressure!

Well ok Coria finalist last year but be careful not to rewrite history, he took advantage of the abandonment of Cecchinato in the 1/8th then that of Cerundolo in the quarter-final. He was opportunistic but that doesn't mean he'll go far again this year. The draw is complicated for him against a really good Altmaier at the start of the year. The German impressed me in Auckland and even at the OA he came close to taking out Khachanov. His game works well on clay too, he took out some big names last year and made some big shots, for me he is a player to follow this season. The H2H is in his favor, he leads 3/1 and each time on clay, the two times where he drops a set (and loses) it is on slow clay which favors Coria more. The Argentinian is an excellent defender/blocker and prefers to have time, we see that during their confrontations on much faster ground it is immediately easier for Altmaier. Here in Cordoba it's a fast land with an altitude of 350m (not incredible but it works!). Coria will have the advantage of the public with him and he will try to explode Altmaier in the exchange, enough to derail the German?