Same Match, Different Week
Machac doesn't have to wait long for a chance to avenge his loss in Vienna...
Well, they just faced off in Vienna, so let's jump right into it! Cobolli did not have the ideal preparation in Vienna, saying that "I spent two days in bed with a fever and went to the court with no expectations." He ended up winning the match, deservedly taking the first set tiebreaker before running away with it in the second. How many times have we seen players having bad preparations/illnesses and then having good tournaments? 😂 Cobolli was really excited to face Sinner, perhaps this worked as some kind of motivation for him in the first round also. He gave Sinner a really good battle in the second set, and for me, there was one thing that really stood out: his ability to handle Sinner's ruthless pace due to his own speed and explosiveness. And it's not like someone like De Minaur, who can cover the court well but get overwhelmed by the power and pace... Cobolli managed to return the ball with sufficient depth, over and over. I'm mentioning this specifically due to the fact that the ability to handle pace is a huge factor against Machac. Because that's how Tomas plays, really aggressive tennis where he takes the ball early, he returns inside the baseline, and really goes after his shots, not afraid to go down the line instead of getting stuck in slower-paced crosscourt exchanges. When it's all clicking, it looks great... his groundstrokes are great, he is very athletic, he can play most shots, and he is also good at the net. However, his big weaknesses are his inconsistency and lack of a plan B. When opponents can handle his pace, he tends to self-destruct, since he will try to up the tempo even more and hit the ball even harder.
I guess now you can see my conclusion ;) Cobolli's explosiveness and ability to handle pace are very useful. Machac managed to barely get himself to a TB in the first before the wheels came off in the second set, when he could not find a solution. Will this match have a similar outcome...?
