Can Baez finally get some momentum?

A gritty win against the local star, now it's time to keep going...

Baez might not be the most flashy player, but he is working really hard to get some wins now. And it has been his physicality that has won him most of his matches lately, often against older / not completely fit players. That was the case once again in his win against Zhang, but make no mistake - he is playing quite solid tennis. I really like the conditions for him; it becomes physical, it's decently fast to give him some pop on his shots while still being able to defend quite well. Getting some confidence back will help him, that's for sure. He gets to face another player who is a bit questionable physically - Rune. After a good start in Tokyo against two attacking players, we saw the same old Rune against Brooksby - the one that doesn't have the patience. I will cut him some slack this time, though. He did take an MTO, got some pills, and stated that he wasn't feeling well... but didn't want to give up cause of his fans ;) So yes, there are questions if he has recovered, he played his match in Tokyo on 28 September...

OK, so neither player enjoys this matchup. Rune likes to face other Attacking Baseliners and Baez prefers to face other defensive players... Rune has the worst against counterpunchers, and Baez has the worst record against Attacking Baseliners :) Rune will at least enjoy facing Baez more than he did facing Brooksby, who really was able to bother him. He has played Baez before, and it's a match that is a bit more straightforward and logical for him. Baez has better court coverage than Brooksby, but less depth on his shots, and he is also more predictable. Holger likes facing predictable players; he can construct the points well with his variety and also predict them quite well. It's one of his biggest strengths. However, I've found that motivation and form are a huge factor in this tournament (more than usual). It's toward the end of the year in a very foreign place for most players, with humid and hot conditions... so there's a real possibility to outwork an opponent that is not fully into it. Players who has had bad seasons could find a chance here to at least rescue their season a little bit - could this be the case for Baez...?