Another stroll?

Or are there reasons to believe in a massive upset? Maybe a first hint in Sinner’s Riyadh/Vienna back-to-back...

After the mishap in Shanghai, Sinner got back to doing what he does best: crushing everyone. He just pocketed $6M by beating Tsitsipas, Djokovic, and Alcaraz, conceding at most 6 games per match. He’ll have to back it up here in very different weather conditions, since it’s 30+ degrees in Riyadh and 10 degrees in Vienna, but everything is played indoors so the impact won’t be huge, just like the flight and the mild time difference.

I expect to see him strong right away, even if he’ll probably need a brief adjustment period.

Opposite him, Altmaier has already played an indoor tournament, where he lost in R1 to a Belgian wild card, looking average and not very clinical. He’s in middling form, with nothing suggesting a level high enough to challenge Sinner more than usual.

They faced each other in Shanghai 15 days ago, with a 6-3 6-3 win for the Italian in full control—exactly what’s expected here.