The anti-Lehecka weapon?

Mpetshi can mess up a lot of players' games by imposing a distinctive rhythm nobody likes

Great win for Gio against Musetti today, just as clinical on serve and a bit more inspired at the net than usual—apparently that was the plan and it worked well to deprive the Italian of time by rushing him. A little scare in the second-set tiebreak to close, but apart from that everything was solid, and you have to be particularly clutch to beat Mpetshi in these conditions. And Lehecka wasn’t clutch against Bonzi in a very tight first set; the Czech was a bit out of sorts at the start and couldn’t free himself up, he squandered a few set points in the tiebreak before seriously getting back on track in the second set. With that same lack of ruthlessness tomorrow, Gio will have a real shot! Even if Lehecka has very good numbers against big servers, we shouldn’t forget that Gio is probably the best server in the world—which is extreme. I’ll add that Lehecka is having a genuinely big season and has positive stats against almost every playstyle; he mostly plays very well all the time (or almost) and deserves his favorite status. In terms of pure level he’s above Mpetshi, but in a no-rhythm match that can bother Lehecka, I’m less keen—I like there to be tempo and intensity for him, and I think the Frenchman’s choppy game can make him tilt. In any case, if we find Gio as a big underdog, that’ll be my bet.