Same but different.

Shapo got married recently... cool, right? Think he'll be more stable?

Oh come on, give me a break! First match after the wedding: straight-sets loss to an Altmaier who wasn’t even at his best. But yeah, I still say Daniel Altmaier’s game and mindset are a pain for Shapo. Today he plays O’Coco. One-handed backhand too. I like the level the Aussie’s showing here in Shanghai. He’s moving better and can go big on the forehand. Can rally from the back, serve-and-volley… pretty complete. But, like usual, if Shapo’s on, he gets through. So we watch this, check his odds, and that’s it. What struck me against Altmaier is he didn’t even seem that pissed about getting chipped away at bit by bit (the German clipped a bunch of lines and was clutch). My theory is the wedding put him more in kitten mode than warrior mode. That said, as always, his tennis hasn’t gone anywhere. What conditions bring out full commitment and an iron mentality from our Canadian? Indoors (if there are a few drops they can close the roof in Shanghai, and there’s usually not much wind), big matches (Nadal at the AO, Sinner at the USO this year, etc.), and… well, it’s actually tricky. Tournament importance? He can steamroll everyone at a 250 and then lay an egg in the first round of a Masters 1000. So yeah, that’s my crappy analysis, but I’m not gonna play guessing games. Conditions look good for him and I want to believe he’ll play at a good level. He was actually very good at the US Open. Few errors, solid… But if he slips back into that negative pattern even a bit, believe me, O’Connell will pounce.