Watch Out, Foki is Angry!

There is plenty of fuel for him with hostile crowds and Davis Cup rejections...

Alejandro came straight from the final in Basel to Paris, where he had to go against two Frenchmen! It was not unreasonable to expect that he would have a breakdown at some point, similar to the one he had in Belgium against Collignon. However, we have to credit him... he has managed the situation brilliantly, even throwing in a bold celebration at the end after his win today against Cazaux. Zverev also came from his final in Vienna, having an unexpectedly long battle against Ugo Carabelli, going deep in the decider. Zverev admitted he was surprised by Carabelli's level (which was also great in the first round against Etcheverry, especially his forehand), and also that he underestimated him, having cruised against him earlier this year in Rome (6-2, 6-1).

With the matches they've played in Paris so far, it's tempting to get behind Fokina here. However, there are a few things to consider. Fokina might have made the final, but he faced Ruud and Humbert, both of whom ended up retiring. So, he's beaten Sonego, Brooksby, Royer, and Cazaux so far. Fokina has become quite hard to beat this year (his speed and the pace he plays with are difficult to handle for many players). Even though Zverev is a lot more vulnerable now than he used to be, he is still quite a step above Fokina's recent opponents. Zverev also has a habit of starting slowly, so I'm not too bothered by his first round... and he got to practice dealing with a lot of good slices from Carabelli, which Fokina likes to use as well. I do have some worries for Fokina in this matchup, about his ability to sustain a good level in a long match against Zverev. Fokina has indeed been winning his matches efficiently, but he has not really been excelling at anything when you look at his underlying metrics. Both of his matches in Paris were full of energy due to the atmosphere, what about now against a Zverev who is a wall from the baseline and can become almost untouchable on his serve...?