The trend is to back!

Michelsen and Giron are starting their season very well with good matches since last week; we feel like backing both of them, but we’re going to have to choose!

The assessment is the same: they both had a great tournament last week and have just come through the first round again, showing some really good stuff. Michelsen dropped a set, but mentally he’s improved so much that it’s almost a positive to see him pull through like that on an “off” day. He didn’t play badly, but after an average first set with a one-sided score, he could have collapsed. He already pulled off that kind of comeback last week and will once again be hard to beat right to the end. For Giron, the first round was much more comfortable, the score is extremely harsh but he deserved the straight-sets win in any case. I didn’t think he was bad at the end of last season, just unable to tighten up his game at the end of sets; now that this is going better, he’s once again one of those guys who’s super hard to beat given his movement and his fairly atypical game, especially with that low, skidding forehand when he really flattens the ball. This will be their third meeting; Giron leads 2–0, but Michelsen has improved a lot since then, and I don’t know if I still give Giron the overall edge. With several battles already under his belt early this year, Michelsen has to keep going; physically he’s still not a beast, and in a really tight match I think he’s the one who’ll crack, but you still have to get to that point. Giron’s solidity will help him absorb pressure, and as soon as he can take control from the baseline, Michelsen will struggle to defend. That’s what Navone was missing yesterday to really be able to close it out: he was excellent in neutral and defensive phases, but he didn’t dictate often enough. Giron should be able to do that.