Too much for Shang?

The local guy with the Freedent smile is going to have to raise his game here because Bublik is already sending some heavy stuff!

Three meetings on outdoor hard, and 2 wins for Shang. The problem? That was in 2024. The 2025 Bublik (post–Indian Wells of course) is something else. He’s a guy who knows exactly what he has to do, who hardly gets mad anymore, and who has a clear goal: climb as high as possible in the rankings. He’s got a golden opportunity with Draper injured and some “beatable” guys just above him, not that far away in terms of points. And since he often says he won’t play until he’s 40, blah blah blah, I really think he’s going to give everything this season. I’d mostly be worried about what comes after, but we’re not there yet. So to sum up, we can expect a good Bublik. On the other side, Shang is pretty solid too! He’s already made 2 semifinals in 2 appearances here, including a retirement last year. It’s obviously a very special tournament for him. About his foot injury, I noticed a slight movement at the start of a point that made me think something might be up. But absolutely nothing certain. And Bublik won’t offer him a super physical raccoon-type match. So we have to look at the match-up between the two players, since on one side we’ve got a guy playing at a top-10 level, and on the other, a guy capable of overperforming in these conditions. In this match-up, there are two main things I really like about Shang: 1. He absorbs pace well, meaning the power and/or weight Bublik puts into the ball. Thanks to his technique and his quality of movement, with good legs and a fairly low center of gravity. 2. He’s left-handed and can find angles to move old man Bublik around. And while he’s at it, isolate the Kazakh on his slightly weaker wing, the backhand. THE thing I don’t like for Shang is quite simply Bublik’s overall level of play. When he’s focused, he really doesn’t give you much. I’m thinking for example of his match against Félix in Paris, or the ones just before. Here we’re in a 250, there’ll be a bit more waste. But the guy is a pro now. And it’s not just a word. Being a pro means preparing well for the Grand Slams to rack up as many points as possible. And preparing well goes through tournaments like this. If he has a good tournament, he could even skip the next 250. The Slams are really Bublik’s weak spot. But right now, they’ve got him insanely focused, and when he’s like that, he plays at a top-10 level.