Lucky loser, really?

Kovacevic was so close to winning his Q2...

Yes, by a hair—or should I say two straight errors instead. What the hell did he do with it, damn... Sure, that was his strategy, but sometimes it was too much. He just wasn’t inclined to get into long rallies against the devil Damir, who dragged him into his bad habits. Because the American did serve for the match and led the whole way. Honestly, I didn’t believe it. So, now what? I’ve already seen Kova have to string matches together indoors when he was gassed. It was early in the season between Montpellier and Rotterdam. I thought he wouldn’t last long against Altmaier after playing 7 matches in Montpellier, and then the guy just loosened the arm and held up. He’s one of those guys who plays a pretty fluid, talented brand of tennis—call it what you want. So I won’t be making a pre-match play based on fitness. Especially since on the other side we’ve got Mr. “choker.” My god, this match is awful to analyze, folks. What about the match-up? Kecma is a guy who likes to attack, even though he’s a good counterpuncher. His big problem for me is his attitude. He often loses control of his tennis over things that are way too small. Here against Kovacevic, he could make him move and pound the backhand, but I’m too worried his straight-line tennis will give the American too much confidence—he’s really feeling the boulish right now—and he wouldn’t have to overthink much here. Now, Kova’s tank is far from full. So I’ll judge from the odds whether a bet is worth it here.