Who Wants It More?

Is anyone fired up, or are they here simply to "check off" the last ATP event of the season?

Well, it's not exactly the most exciting match we have ahead of us, on an indoor hardcourt. Tabilo had a huge Asian Swing, including the title in Chengdu, after coming back from injury. He's really been pushing himself, playing in two Challengers as well, since he finished in Asia. However, his results have not been as good since he came back to Europe. A 6-4, 6-4 loss to Bublik in Vienna is not bad, considering how well Bublik has been playing lately. Then he went and played an indoor hardcourt Challenger in Bratislava, where he lost to another Big Server, Rodesch, in the first round - with the same scoreline! He is also signed up for a Challenger in Lyon after Athens. Perhaps Tabilo is still eager to go all out and finish the year strong? Walton has had his breakout year on the ATP tour, and we have to be a bit wary of the Australians toward the very end of the year, since they can feel homesick ;) However, I think his performances have been alright on indoor hard courts, with decent matches against Schoolkate, Medvedev, and Vukic. He did have a bad loss to Cilic in Basel, but that's a tough matchup for him. Tabilo is the better player overall, but he has yet to find his rhythm on indoor hardcourt. Both of them have a decent first serve, which could allow for some easier holds on these courts that look rather fast. Walton's backhand is quite respectable; it's not a weakness at least, which is good when going against a left-hander. I went through their social media to see if I could find anything that indicates some kind of excitement for this event... at least Tabilo has a picture with him and Wawrinka and some announcement that he is playing in Athens. Nothing from Walton. Let's have a look at the odds to see if we can find anything...