And now...

Arthur Rinderknech returns to competition after his historic final in Shanghai. And guess who he might play if he wins his first-round match???

And yes... Valentin Vacherot. That would be huge—imagine the crazy atmosphere! Anyway, I caught a bit of Arthur at practice. He played a set against Carlito and won 7/6/ Carlito was playing at like 50%, but it still does wonders for confidence. Just gotta make sure he doesn’t have too much of it, but in this Parisian vibe, and up against a guy who gives you even less rhythm, I think it matters. Because yeah, this match will be anything but easy. Fabian Marozsan can be a hell of an indoor player. His stats don’t really show it, but in Almaty two weeks ago, he was rock solid. We say it a lot, but slightly slow conditions with a low bounce are perfect for him. He needs time to impose his rhythm, and he’s become a master of the drop shot. That said, it’s not that slow, and Arthur’s got some serious power, which I think will really bother Fabian. And the Hungarian fights pretty well, but he’s not known for having nerves of steel. He has really shitty results in Davis Cup compared to his level, for example. Still, I think there’s a good chance both players hold serve solidly. So I’ll also take a look at what’s happening with the overs...