Shapoval-OFF

With the Canadian it's all or nothing, don't expect anything!

This player is still a mystery; he falls into the category of guys who can catch fire for a week or just lose in the first round playing nonsense. Only one warm-up match to chew on against Collignon; in his defense, he ran into a tough opponent and a much more motivated player, also because Shapo gave up pretty quickly anyway. He played again in an exhibition against Thompson and that’s it. I should also remind you he had a little neck problem during the off-season; I’m wondering if it’s not an injury he’s still carrying and that’s bothering him. I’ll find out at the same time as you which version of Shapo we’re going to get.

On the other side of the net, I’m happy to see my buddy Bu again; he kind of disappeared last year after a few nice stretches. He’s a player I like and he’s still young; I believe in a potential comeback because he plays good tennis and on top of that he’s mentally tough as nails. He lost his first match of the season without disgracing himself, which is typical for him; he’s the specialist of big matches that he ends up losing. I like his profile against Shapo for several reasons: first, the format suits him well, he likes to fight for a long time and could make Shapo crack over the distance; I also like his very simple but damn solid game, which is often exactly what can make Shapo implode. If we get a bad/average Shapo, then this match will be tough for him; on the other hand, if he’s having a good day, there’s a clear class difference, both in terms of talent and peak level.