Another left-hander with a solid profile for Spizzirri again

The American beat Garin before taking out JM Cerundolo in qualifying; he’s now going to face another left-hander who can keep the ball in play for a long time!

I quite like Spizzirri, he’s progressing at his own pace and really playing well. For an American he doesn’t rush too much in rallies, he takes his time and doesn’t shy away from grinding from the baseline. Nice footwork, a steady mentality and a decent serve. He’s not exactly scary, but to beat him you really have to want it. With two matches in his legs and some interesting form since the end of last season, he’s much more “ready” than Mannarino. The Frenchman was actually supposed to play qualifying, but with the withdrawals he went straight into the main draw. We only saw him in Hong Kong getting thrashed by Cilic, and with him we know that a really bad streak can come very quickly. He has a weird history at this tournament: the first years were great with a final in particular, but since then he’s been stringing together first-round exits; not sure he actually likes the conditions in the end. It’s always hard to know what to expect from him; I’m a bit in the dark, but what I know about Spizzirri is that his backhand is solid and he’s not going to refuse to grind on every point. It will take a good Mannarino to manage him, and that’s far from guaranteed! I rate Mannarino’s level above Spizzirri’s WHEN they’re both playing their best tennis; however, it’s the American who seems to be feeling the ball better right now, so I see the Frenchman as the underdog in this matchup.