Coric on the rebound

The Croatian is not in a good position at all before starting this GC.

Quite an interesting format for him, he's so calm and mentally stable that fighting for hours is good for him. That's about all we can give him before the start of this match because the rest is worrying. He's had a disastrous preparation for the US Open, no wins on hard and no wins at all since RG. A serve that's letting him down a bit, a low first-serve % and a feeling of lack in his game. Unfortunately for him, he runs into Lehecka in the first round, the Czech has been better in preparing for this tournament and will be fresh too. With his quality of serve, he has enough to be calm for a little while and he'll have all the luxury of being able to put the pressure on the return afterward. Not really anything negative to say about Lehecka right now, he plays his matches and holds his own. He comes close to beating good players and we know that on outdoor hard he's a threat. Sometimes the long format can play tricks on him because with his risky game it's hard to be perfect for that long but once again it's just a matter of looking for the little beast. I see a real difference in level currently between these two players and the odds will go in that direction unfortunately.