Intensity and Emotions

Have you cooled down yet, Fokina?

Fokina more or less crashed out against Medvedev in Beijing, getting broken six times in two sets. He seemed agitated from the start and was trying too hard to force his game offensively. As for Arnaldi, the issue remains that he experiences numerous dips during matches, but he was facing Sakamoto, who was unable to exploit them properly. Fokina and Arnaldi are both Solid Baseliners who move very well and have a balanced game. I find Fokina to be better offensively, especially when it comes to hitting an approach shot and closing down the net... Arnaldi is better in the role when he can stay on the baseline and defend. In this matchup, Fokina is likely to be the one who keeps taking the initiative to dictate the game, and that could be something that suits Arnaldi. I find Fokina's max level really good, when he can really implement his game offensively with the ballstriking he has combined with the athleticism, it becomes nasty! He has a great season, and the question for me is if he can keep it up at least for some parts of the end of the season now? He is a player who depends a lot on his confidence. We are used to seeing him have quite bad moments during the years when he is losing a lot of "random" matches. With both players not at their best, who will turn up for this match?