The Unstoppable Cousins

Vacherot and Rinderknech are having quite a tournament...

What a match for Valentin against Griekspoor! Vacherot was broken straight away in a nervous opening game and then had to endure a Griekspoor serving 85% first serves and hitting every line on the court with his forehand for one and a half sets. Vacherot was able to hold on and save 0-40 at 5-5 in the second set. This was a turning point, since Griekspoor got incredibly frustrated, lost the tiebreak (Vacherot played it perfectly). In the third set, Griekspoor's frustration lingered while Vacherot was able to maintain a very high level and get the win. As for Rune, he played a solid match against Mpetshi Perricard. I still don't like Rune as a returner, but he is quite good at blocking returns (and thus getting them back into play), and this is a big deal against GMP. I will say that while GMP had a good serving day and also at the net, he was not having a good day from the baseline (even by his standards). Still, let's give credit to Rune... a solid match in a good tournament for him so far.

So, Rune will once again be facing someone with a big serve and the ability to finish points at the net well. Vacherot might not serve as big, but his level from the baseline has been miles better than GMP's. Rune is great at using his tools to spread the court well, and this is something that could bother Vacherot, especially if the match drags on. While I still have not really observed any signs of physical weakness from him, he has played a lot of tennis (two three-setters in qualifiers as well), and this could become a factor later on. If Vacherot can bring a similar level to the one he has played in his other matches, he has a chance here! Having a big serve is a great weapon against Rune; we know that he is not the most consistent returner. Rune has also been serving well in this tournament, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see a match with a lot of holds here, at least initially...