Some alarming scores

Muller is taking 6-1s multiple times in his recent matches, it's not pretty

Alex Muller isn’t in great shape right now—the Frenchman isn’t at his best at the end of the season, and so far he hasn’t managed to turn things around. Few wins lately, but like since the start of the season, you can never rule out him pulling off a big tournament—that’s almost the rule. Indoor isn’t his favorite surface; he doesn’t like being constantly attacked. He needs to be in the fight, to have a hand on the game, without it ever going to the extreme either. Against Kecmanovic last week, he got pounded by the Serb, who played a really clean match—but in a matchup that suited him. Muller found himself on the back foot too fast and too often, and when Kecma has his feet on the baseline and can dictate, it’s tough to beat him even in his current dip in form. The score sucks, but I see a more favorable matchup for Muller tomorrow against Brooksby. The American is a baseline metronome and not at all a powerful aggressor. They already played this season, and Brooksby won on physicality in a super tight match. I still think this matchup is fine for Muller, and this time physically it could be Brooksby who has a few problems if the match drags on. The American is coming from Hong Kong, where he played the UTS—a short but intense format—and above all he has to deal with the travel and the adjustment to European indoor. We’ve seen top players struggle with the transition this week, like Medvedev or FAA in their first round. That’s a big factor in this match. Brooksby is strong when his game is locked in, when he’s feeling good physically and dialed in; here I wonder if the quick transition won’t be hard to manage, on top of facing a Muller backed by the crowd (we’re in Switzerland, but even in qualies they were really backing our French guys!). Muller’s current poor form doesn’t exactly make you want to trust him, but given the odds..