Cousins' Reunion, Season 1 Episode 2

The party goes on in the family! But I’m afraid this one might be a little less nice than the last one...

And yeah, because the first bit of news is that Arthur pulled out of doubles with Gio because of a virus. Once again, we’re in the dark, since there are viruses and then there are viruses. What I do know, though, is that Arthur played an average match against Marozsan. I chalked it up to nerves and a Hungarian opponent who’s a real pain to face in an indoor first round, but thinking it over, I reckon he was also a bit tired. In the fairly slow conditions of a center court with plenty of space behind the baseline, this match could be more physical than a usual indoor match. Actually, thinking back, their Shanghai final was already played with an Arthur who was more physically spent than his cousin. Arthur can probably play his match at at least 90%, I think, but in those conditions, it’s a bit problematic. He’s the one of the two with the more forward-leaning, net-oriented profile, and we saw how good Val’s passing was against Jiri Lehecka. And if he stays too far back, then we’re playing into Val’s game, which, as a reminder, was forged on the clay of the Monte Carlo Country Club and he loves physical battles. What could also change from their last meeting is a very timid start from Val, who handled the pressure of that final much better—experience talking. Also, what made Benjamin Balleret proud yesterday, Valentin’s brother and coach, was Valentin’s ability to sustain a high level throughout the match even when he was leading. For the record, the Monegasque had to come back from a break down in each set against Fritz if I’m not mistaken, and he trailed six times during his nine wins in Shanghai. What does Arthur have left? His serve, of course. Even playing poorly, he managed to hold it almost the whole time against Fabian Marozsan, and he saved 4 out of 5 break points while hitting 16 aces. If he’s not sick, there’s a good chance Arthur will lean heavily on his serve quality, his barometer in his game. But given how Val returned against Jiri, I’m torn, guys...