Post-Båstad Nuno
Borges seems to have "lost his mojo" lately...
And can you really blame him? A brutal five-setter loss to Khachanov in a tiebreak, with Nuno having served for the match. OK, that's not good, but it can happen to anyone. Let's go to Båstad to defend the title... losing in the first round against Misolic after being 5-2 up in the second set, serving for the match and having 0-40 on return (triple match point), but not converting and losing the match in three sets. Two extreme events like this in a row (including not being able to defend the title at all), it's no wonder Borges is a shadow of his former self right now! His only win since that was a tough three-set win against Bagnis (yeah...), where he almost lost in straight sets. Borges' last match was a first-round loss to Majchrzak in Winston-Salem: 6-1, 6-3. Majchrzak played that match well, but it was also quite obvious that Borges is not feeling his tennis right now, a lot of unforced errors and tactical hesitation. As for Holt, he has lost both his matches on hardcourt, against Boyer and also against McDonald. His match against McDonald was dramatic, with Mackie unable to move properly for the entire third set and still managing to find a way to win...
Both players are Solid Baseliners, and while Borges is the better player, his lack of form and confidence gives Holt a decent chance here. I watched both of Holt's last matches, and while he can do most of the basics quite well, I found him quite... dull. For Borges, this gives him a chance to settle into the match and find his game, something that would be a lot harder against a more offensive player, such as an Attacking Baseliner. Borges tends to perform quite well in these kinds of matchups against other solid baseliners. He can utilize his forecourt skills and also his ability to be clutch to win those matches. At the moment, though, it might take a while for him to get into it, and there might be some dips, and Holt can capitalize on those, especially playing at home in a tournament where he has good memories (from his 2022 run).
