Logic prevailed.

The two best players in the draw are in the final—no real surprise, despite a path that was far from easy.

Sorry, Musetti, but yes, for me Lehecka and FAA are well above indoors, and they were my two favorites for this tournament; here they are in the final, and I think they’ve managed their tournaments well. Lehecka keeps being super tidy and serious; he’s taken a real step forward this season and confirms you have to count on him week after week. His semifinal was handled masterfully; he was so meticulous on every returnable ball that he deserved to break Mpetshi in both sets, in my opinion; you could tell he was wary of the Frenchman and needed to stay focused from the first to the last point. With that same application on return while keeping his service games easy, he’s built to come and beat FAA, but the Canadian is nowhere near done yet. He’s playing for his qualification for the ATP Finals, and for him that’s a good source of motivation (the complete opposite of Musetti). His tournament is good too, even if to me he found himself on the brink more often than Lehecka; he scraped through in a deciding tiebreak against Dzumhur and saved a set point against Spizzirri. It’s a strength to have stayed calm and clutch, but let’s say Lehecka has shown greater dominance. We should see two attack-minded players in this final; they like to take charge with their forehand, and it’s hard to give a real match-up edge—I find they do roughly the same things in their game. It’s more a matter of feel based on what we’ve seen in this tournament that counts a bit more: who looks stronger and able to manage this final from start to finish? I have my answer.