Did Arthur get lucky?

He won his first round after his opponent retired—did Rinderknech really deserve to go through?

Well, not in the slightest. I’d even say Medjedovic taking the first set was a bit of a steal given how the match went. I thought Arthur had the better serve, was stronger from the baseline, and made better attacking choices too. But Medjedovic is a devil—he always finds a way to dig deep and snag sets/matches in his own style. Then he retired, and Arthur didn’t have to battle long, so he’ll be fresh for the second round, and with the level he’s showing and the confidence he’s got right now, he’s a nasty draw for the seeds. Michelsen’s the one who’s gonna have to deal with him. The American’s not in great form at all—I’d even say he botched his U.S. swing. His only good tournament was Toronto, and having watched all his matches there, he got away with those results. After that, no surprise, he “disappointed” all the way to the US Open. Quick Laver Cup trip with a loss, then he starts his Asian swing in Tokyo and basically tanks it against Quinn from the second set on—yeah, not great. He’s still young, and we’ve learned with him it’s often all or nothing, which means we’ve gotta keep our guard up. A good tournament here wouldn’t be shocking, but nothing points that way: the momentum is clearly with Rinderknech, and the Frenchman’s already beaten him twice in two meetings—not in straights, but two wins all the same. I remember last year in Bercy, Arthur worked him over (yep, yep) and Michelsen totally unraveled! That mix of aggressive serving and rediscovered baseline solidity is really pissing off his opponents right now. I still have his recent match against ADM in mind—he was this close to knocking him out, and in slow conditions too. No doubt about it, Rinderknech is the one I’m way more into.