Agut the survivor

Down a set and a break, RBA saves a match point against Borges before raising his game. Can this match help him transcend against Mensik, and more importantly, return the ball well?

Indeed, when you look at just the quality of Jakub's serve compared to RBA's return, you'd think the Spaniard would have little chance of success. The weather forecast is good, so the conditions are fast. This suits him because it compensates for a slight lack of power, but not in the serve/return channel. However, the Czech is rated at 1.44, and I wonder why. Probably because of their only and last match this year in Miami. Mensik won it in 3 sets, with a much closer match content than the score suggests. His serve in particular saved him well, and he was very realistic. RBA raised his level of play in set 2, as against Borges! Does he have problems maintaining high intensity for an entire match? Their match was the first round of Miami, a tournament that Mensik would go on to win as the first title of his career. But before that, it wasn't a done deal for Jakub. He'd been struggling since the start of the season to find his mental and tennis balance. Now I find him better. More accomplished. It wouldn't be shocking to see him lose a set, but I'm betting more on an improvement in his grass game rather than a stagnation. And of course, his odds are explained precisely by evoking his movement on the surface, his lack of experience, and his matchup against an RBA who knows how to play on grass and who will make him play and move as much as possible. So, should we go for it?