The Hardcourt Maestro

First it was clay... then grass... and now (fast) hardcourt as well?

Musetti is becoming a really tough player to beat! His match against Basilashvili had the potential to be dangerous due to Basil's overpowering style, but he managed it quite easily. Shevchenko is having a good tournament, even if the path to the semis has been a bit tougher... Monfils, Mpetshi Perricard, and Daniel - all going three sets.

I like the way Shevchenko has been playing so far, and he has mentioned how much he loves being in Chengdu... and he has beaten two counterpunchers already (Monfils & Daniel). However, this is a big step up in quality! I prefer Shevchenko against players that don't move too well, and Musetti definitely does not fall in this category. At least the fast court will help Shevchenko, cause it would be even worse trying to work through the Musetti defense on a slower one... If he can just keep serving the way he has been, he could maintain this level of competitiveness; he has a better balance of consistency and decent firepower compared to someone like Basilashvili. We definitely also prefer Shevchenko in this underdog spot, since he tends to be quite streaky... Physically, I think he is still OK. He did not play a full three-setter against Monfils. Against GMP, there were a few rallies, and he also had a rain break today against Taro. As you can see, those were some arguments of Shevchenko, because he is the one who needs to find a solution against Musetti, not the other way around...