He's normalizing indecency!

Haha, I loved that line from the commentator about the Moutet/Michelsen match. The magician's hands are heating up! Can he do it?

Of course he can do it! He already did it this year anyway! It was in the sweltering heat of Washington, during an epic match! With a crazy match point with a drop shot, counter-drop, lob... Daniil was cooked for a good part of the match with an MTO to check his pulse, and Moutet cramped during the match, then again celebrating his win at the end. A gladiators’ match, in which Daniil hit 10 double faults. The match lasted 2h25, a cat-and-mouse game where every tennis shot was played. What’s different from today’s match? Indoors, heat, form. Moutet reaches the final without losing a set, but... he’s been broken 7 times total on 32 break points. 32!!! Watching him, I really feel this final is his, because his motivation is huge, but above all, he doesn’t drop sets despite his countless break points against him. And to me, that’s a strong signal. Normally, Coco against the big guns, either he starts very badly, or he makes a big push after set 1. Against Daniil in Washington, he took 6-1, not quite dialed in yet and his recipe wasn’t working, then he led 5-2 in the second. Here in Almaty, nope—not a single set lost despite dangerous opponents every time. As for Daniil, I’d of course put his three-setter against the Duck into perspective because the Australian played very well. But! This final could be very physical, and Daniil is coming back from his Asian swing. He’s not as “sharp” as in his last tournaments. On the other hand, he’s more aggressive. He’ll certainly come in with the strategy of taking the initiative so as not to end up in a physical battle. He’s doing it better than before, and returning less deep behind the baseline. He’s playing at a very high level, but less consistent than in Asia, I find. He had his lapses against Walton, and against the Duck he got dragged into 3 sets. He’s only been broken once in 3 matches, but against Moutet, it’s different. He’s defending a final, and he won here two years ago. He looks like a solid favorite, okay. And guess what: Moutet is going to fight to win his first ATP title. Just saying ;)