Mr Shang, how's that foot of yours?
Hopefully it's better, cause there is a title for you to defend...
What a season it has been for Shang... got to the SFs in Hong Kong at the start of the year, but had to retire due to sickness. Retired against Fokina in the first round of the Australian Open shortly after and has only had three matches since then, in Toronto, Cincinnati, and the US Open. In those matches, we have seen glimpses of a good Shang but also, worryingly, a foot that keeps bothering him! In his last match against Bellucci, he exhibited patches of good play but repeatedly touched his foot, and after a while, he was unable to move properly, ultimately retiring halfway through the fourth set.
"So I cannot finish a professional tennis match under those circumstances, let alone a Grand Slam match. I'm still finding the cause of this injury, and I will tell fans after fixing it."
Those were his words after the match, and yes, they are quite concerning. Especially with such an important part of the season coming up for Shang... At least we have fast conditions here with a best-of-3 format instead of best-of-5, so that helps. While he might not be able to play enough matches to defend his title, he can still perform at a decent level. He was on his way to beating Etcheverry on grass and had some really good moments against Bellucci as well. And yes, he's had at least a bit more time to get better...
Another person who has been struggling for quite a while is Zizou Bergs, who has lost confidence and feels burned out. Once again, we do see good moments from him as well, but his level is very streaky, especially his serve (a LOT of double faults) and forehand going haywire. We know he always performs well in the Davis Cup, and his win against Thompson was crucial in Belgium's 3-2 victory over Australia. Could this victory give him some confidence to improve on the main tour as well? Maybe... but let's keep in mind he made the final in Hertogenbosch and did not really manage to improve after that!
As for the matchup, there isn't much that stands out to me. Under regular circumstances, both players serve quite well and have good rally tolerance combined with the ability to play some nice aggressive tennis as well. Shang doesn't mind playing these kinds of players, but I find him even better against more defensive players. They've faced each other twice, with Shang winning on Indoor HC and Bergs winning on Clay, both of which were somewhat competitive matches with tight sets. I think their current weaknesses might cancel each other out a bit... Shang will be a bit inconsistent due to his injury, and Bergs is inconsistent because he is not yet in his best form. So, what's the conclusion?
