The next match

Two huge wins in this second round for these two players..

I’ll start with Norrie: the Brit played a great match against an Alcaraz on an off day. You can tell quickly when the Spaniard isn’t really in it, but even then he’s still above a lot of guys on tour, which is why Norrie deserves credit—he still had to get it done. From his side it was genuinely a good match; he didn’t play with the same fear he showed against Berrettini recently. This time he did what he had to do and I loved his performance—once again it feels like he picks his tournaments well. After a win like that over the world No. 1, it’s not easy to follow it up, but he got a day off and his match wasn’t insanely long either. The opposite for Vacherot, who played nearly three hours today and has to turn around again tomorrow. His match against Rinderknech wasn’t good on several counts: first his serve, which wasn’t as sharp as usual, and also his attitude. He was tight and stressed—he handled his final in Shanghai better, which tells you something! I also felt he was cooked; neither of them had any legs left at the end, and Val still had a bit more in the tank. A tough match physically and mentally, and tomorrow you’re playing Norrie—brutal. Sure, with a lot more looseness Val could find his level again tomorrow, and we could also see Norrie revert to wobbling when he doesn’t have a top player across the net. That’s possible, but what still seems likely is that Vacherot spent a bit too much today in every department and will come up a bit short tomorrow. As for the matchup, it’s going to be long, tight, and tricky for both players.