End of the Road?
Is there anything left in the tank for Fonseca?
Well, Joao had a short turnaround after a big title. He was able to get through his first round match against Shapovalov with a comeback win, similarly to how their match went in Basel. Khachanov was struggling with form entering Paris, but managed to absolutely destroy Quinn, who had come through the qualifiers nicely. Fonseca had an MTO for his hip in the match against Denis; however, he insisted that it was no big deal for his next match. Nonetheless, I have quite a few concerns for him. He doesn't get an extra day of rest, and he is facing an opponent who should be physically "fresh" here. We also have slower conditions, which will give him fewer free points on serve... and it also makes it harder for him to hit winners, despite his power! For Khachanov, it's encouraging that he just faced an Attacking Baseliner that is at least somewhat similar to Fonseca (not as good, I know). Quinn relies a lot on his serve and forehand to do damage, and he was completely neutralized. What solutions and plans will Joao have if he is unable to consistently hit through Khachanov? Is he willing to grind it out, or will he lose his patience...?


