Double Brilliance

Both players are coming from excellent performances...

First of all, I want to start off by saying that I am sad that these players are facing each other... why's that? Well, I found them both absolutely masterful yesterday and would have most likely backed them against most other opponents in the draw. Instead, they get to face each other. Botic absolutely shredded the struggling Arnaldi in a complete performance. His performance reminds me of some of his matches in Kitzbühel, where I found him to be so complete in every aspect. He has exceptionally good court coverage for his height, his serve is good, he returns deep consistently, and he is good from both wings... Something that really stands out to me specifically is how good he is at hitting FH winners from balls in the forecourt, Rafa style! Arnaldi had a few moments where he clutched on serve or some good shots and managed to hold on, but Botic responded without blinking and just held his serve to love or 15 before getting another chance on return. As for Baez, he was behind for most of the first set, with his serve being a bit of a weakness, as expected. His return and baseline level, I found to be at a great level. PCB had huge problems finishing points, Baez was an absolute wall, and PCB found no solutions, managing to drop the first set despite having many chances. From there on, Baez broke straight away in the second set, and there was no looking back. At the start of the match, there were a few signs of some easy unforced errors that have been plaguing Baez lately, but I felt it got better as the match went on, so yes... a great performance!

Now they will face off in the last match in the night session on Centre Court, both having played on the outside courts yesterday. Botic will benefit from more free points off his serve and also has the greater firepower. However, while he was very unbothered yesterday, he is unlikely to get as many gifted unforced errors from Baez (compared to Arnaldi). Add slower nighttime conditions against the relentless defense of Baez, and it will be a test for Botic not to overpress and get frustrated. If he can remain calm and work through the Baez defense step by step, there is not a lot that Baez can do. Botic has a very high ceiling, which is evident in his ability to beat elite players. I find him to be quite streaky; if he is playing well, he tends to play well for a while, and vice versa...