American affair

100% American duel: can the comeback kid Mmoh keep his fairy tale going?

Four matches played as the underdog, four victories: Michael Mmoh is putting together a very strong week and reaches the quarterfinals, thus equaling the best result of his career.

In the first round against Tabilo, I thought he was fairly average, mainly taking advantage of a Chilean who was really off his game in an overall low‑quality match. But today, the context was completely different, and Mmoh logically came out on top in his duel with Khachanov. Effective on serve, solid from the baseline, he managed to perfectly neutralize a Khachanov still far from his best level and clearly not very comfortable in the tournament conditions.

On his side, Marcos Giron was excellent today. He simply outpaced Müller, very often putting him under pressure and on the defensive. A clear and fully deserved win for Giron, who showed great solidity. This is the very good version of Marcos: the one from weeks when he is particularly difficult to handle.

Logically, Giron is the bookmakers’ favorite with odds around 1.50, which seems consistent to me. More surprising, however: Mmoh leads 3–1 in their head‑to‑head, including two wins on hard court in 2023, both times achieved in a clear underdog role quite similar to the one he’ll have tomorrow.