The Battle of the Hyped Kids

We have a NextGen battle on our hands...

Mensik had his work cut out for him when he had to face a young copy of Federer in the early round, Bernet. That match was so fun to watch, and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of Bernet as he grows. Anyway, what about Mensik? Well, he was OK. A bit rusty, not having played since Shanghai. As usual, he played a rather passive match, embracing his Big Server / Solid Baseliner playstyle. Once again, he had a huge issue with his second serves... quite many double faults, especially for playing indoors. He managed to take the third set mainly because of Bernet having a dip and not being able to keep up physically, not used to this kind of intensity in the juniors. In short, a lot of question marks remain for me with Mensik now toward the end of the season. Fonseca, on the other hand, what a performance. After the disappointment against Botic last week and then getting Mpetshi Perricard in the first round, it could have gotten really ugly. Joao has struggled against Big Servers in the past, mainly due to his lack of a good block/chip return (and thus the inability to get balls back in play often enough), and that was a major worry ahead of this match on fast courts. However, he kept GMP to just 65% first serve points won, which is quite incredible. He got a massive 9.01 performance rating (out of 10) on Tennis Insight, with a 9/10 return rating included, which is massive. I found him really good overall, against a very tough opening opponent... even if perhaps GMP was slightly off his best.

Mensik has excellent stats against Attacking Baseliners like Fonseca (20-8 ML, +20.98u and 19-7 HCP, +10.48u). In general, you back Mensik almost blindly against this kind of player; he excels at absorbing the pace and getting into return games while his own massive first serve enables him to hold a bit easier. However, just cause it's a huge trend does not mean it's impossible to back the other side... just have to select the spot carefully. I like several things in this specific match for Fonseca. He just beat a huge server in straight sets. I also find Mensik quite vulnerable right now, and while the matchup is not bad for him, he might just be facing Fonseca at the wrong time. Mensik has had a long season, whereas Fonseca has been choosing his tournaments carefully and looks a lot fresher. I give him a big advantage in the rallies, as long as he can neutralize the first serve decently, which he should have a good chance of doing (based on his performance against GMP). Also, this is a perfect place for him to have a big tournament, with his connection to Roger and the "On" brand ;) I think you can see where I am going here, can't you...?