Aleksandar on indoor courts

The Australian Vukic kicks off his end-of-season indoor run with a semifinal to defend here. First round within his reach against a qualifier? Trap or opportunity?

I watched a bit of Marko Topo’s match against Billy Harris, and I can say he fought like a dog to get there. He was the underdog in both of his qualifying matches. From what I saw—since I don’t know him very well—his strengths are mainly his movement and his counterpunching. That’s a good profile to face Vukic, even more so with Almaty’s low bounce. We’re at altitude, and coming through qualies is often a big advantage because qualifiers have had two matches to get used to a ball that travels through the air more easily (a lot of long errors at the start). Now, Vukic is a level above. He’s put together some good matches in Asia and each time goes out against good players. Marcos really liked the quality of his game. I’m a bit more reserved. If he gets countered too often and his opponent manages to move him around well, that could really hurt him. His straight-set losses to Nishioka, Borges, and Ruud speak volumes to me. Enough to take a small over? Let’s go check the odds...