What a crazy tournament!!

Just monstrous from Rinderknech this week, he's in the zone and it's not over yet!

I’ve thought Arthur has been really damn good for several months, but I saw Lehecka as even better; in the end, it was our Frenchman who was the best. His serving quality is even higher than usual and, as I’ve already said, I think he’s found the right baseline mix between aggressiveness and solidity; he’s much more willing to let the rallies unfold than before. That makes him incredibly hard to break, and he’s dangerous everywhere now—this is very high level. And that’s at least what you need to beat Felix these last few weeks. The Canadian came into this tournament without preparation during this Asian swing, and I think having a bit less pressure on arrival helped him. Another big positive is his level of play, which he seems to have kept since the US Open; he’s sometimes disappointing when a lot is expected of him, but right now he’s showing up! His three wins are just great, and he’s still super fresh; that’s a major factor for me given the extreme conditions this week. What could help Arthur, on the other hand, is getting free points and keeping things in a short pattern with maximum focus on his service games—smart energy management. Against Lechecka he didn’t seem affected to me and the match wasn’t long; with a day off I think he should still have the engine to last. Now in terms of the match-up, I give the advantage to Felix, who’s already beaten him twice this season, and given the number of chances Felix created, he seems pretty comfortable against Arthur’s style. Both are playing even better than before and I can’t give an edge here; Felix is the big favorite, but Arthur is having the tournament of his life and I think he still has a lot to offer in tomorrow’s match.