Here we go... again!

Moutet gets a BYE and instead Cilic has to face Basil...

Well, that's quite a change in the opponent's playstyle. Poor Cilic, last day's practice chasing down drop shots has been all for nothing! Will he be happy about this matchup change? I'd say so... but still, we have a Basil who is starting to get hot. A good run in Chengdu and coming pretty cleanly from the qualifiers here in Shanghai. Cilic has definitely hit a bit of a slump since his good run in Wimbledon, and what concerns me a little bit is that he was not really competitive against Rinderknech (another big hitter) in their Davis Cup match. I'm not quite sure whether I prefer him to face a more defensive player or an attacking one right now. He tends to be better against defensive players since his power, combined with consistency and experience, tends to be able to hit through these kinds of players. However, when he is not in form, perhaps someone like Basilashvili will suit him better, where the points are shorter? He won't get many free points against someone like Basavareddy or Moutet, but Basil could open up the door for some free points a bit more, which could be what he needs right now. We should mention that the matchup is not so bad for Basilashvili either, he struggles more against solid players that aren't too weak (e.g someone like Musetti/Mensik). Do we go with form or experience here?