The Machacinator

There were some concerns about Machac's form coming into USO...

Well, can we say that these concerns have been dispelled after 9-0 in sets and an average of 8 games lost per match? Nardi, Fonseca, and Blanchet were the victims. Machac is playing hyper-aggressive tennis right now, with a very offensive return position, and is hammering everything from the baseline. As a result, all three of his opponents have been heavily rushed and unable to play at that kind of pace. Add to that his excellent athleticism and net play, and you have a very dangerous player! It feels like Machac is really "in the zone" at the moment; his tennis is just flowing. We should take note that he has not had the hardest path here, but Machac has made them look non-competitive! Apart from an easy first round against Nava, we cannot say the same for Fritz. Struggling with Lloyd Harris before he had physical problems and a tough match against Kym, where he was only able to really run away with it after Kym had an MTO as well. Fritz is not playing terribly by any means, but it just feels like he is a bit tight, playing rather passively, not to lose, instead of taking command. I don't want to read too much into this just yet, though. He was facing opponents where he could afford to take a safer approach. It will be interesting to see his approach to this match; he knows just how dangerous Machac is, as they faced off in the United Cup at the start of the year, where Machac had match points in the second set before having to retire at the end of the set.

As for the matchup, we have two huge ball strikers who are really good from both wings. Fritz has a bigger serve and tends to be a bit more solid, whereas Machac moves better and is slightly better at the net as well. Machac has a very high ceiling due to all his attributes and aggressive game, but it also makes him a lot streakier. Fritz's ability to handle the Machac return without getting instantly overwhelmed will be a key factor, since this offensive positioning can also be exploited with a +1, as a lot of the court opens up if the return is not good enough. Machac has not faced a Big Server yet, and that has been one of the factors contributing to his absolute dominance, as he has been able to get into a lot of return games due to his opponents' weaker serves. Still, Fritz's recent match against Kym had some worrying signs, as he allowed the inexperienced qualifier to take much control of the match. Against someone like Machac, that could be more costly...