Taking advantage of the home advantage... again?

A bit of a copy of Comesaña / Shang on paper: an experienced Argentine against a young Asian player. Same feeling? Not entirely.

The comparison ends pretty quickly, because Wong is clearly not Shang. On the other hand, Wong is the true local of the event: the only Hong Kong player in the draw. He’s a player Marcos is very fond of and, even if I know him a bit less, I was particularly struck by his very fine run at the US Open. He puts a huge amount of energy on court, with an attitude that’s sometimes a bit eccentric, and he’ll clearly be able to rely on the crowd in the heated moments.reallocal of the event: the only Hong Kong player in the draw. He’s a player Marcos is very fond of and, even if I know him a bit less, I was particularly struck by his very fine run at the US Open. He puts a huge amount of energy on court, with an attitude that’s sometimes a bit eccentric, and he’ll clearly be able to rely on the crowd in the heated moments.

That said, once this contextual advantage is acknowledged, we need to stay clear‑headed: Wong hasn’t yet truly made the leap on the Challenger circuit, where his results remain rather irregular, which explains his current ranking. We should, however, see his best version here. The question is whether that will be enough against an opponent who is certainly beatable, but far from a freebie.

Navone, much like Comesaña, is an Argentinian who doesn’t hesitate to play a lot on hard courts. In my view, though, he has slightly fewer qualities than his compatriot, despite some fine performances last year. His game is based above all on grinding from the baseline, with, as is often the case with Argentinians, certain limitations on serve.