Team Vacherot

Let me explain to you why a lower low

I have to say I’m quite surprised by Valentin’s price here. This is not at all the Val from Shanghai, but I have to say I’m very optimistic about his ability to establish himself in the top 50; he really has the tennis fundamentals for it and the attitude to match. He’s losing to Korda & ADF, who are better players, nothing alarming at all, quite the opposite. A small point that sounds crazy given his ranking of world no. 30, but this will only be his second match in a Grand Slam after Roland 2024 where he came through qualifying, feels like another era.

Val will face the young American Damm, who’s coming from qualifying and who won a lot of matches at the end of 2025 in challengers I’d call average. Damm is a tall, strong, left-handed player with a good serve, but he has limited mobility and still has consistency issues. From what I saw in the final round of qualifying, I wasn’t really convinced by his current level.

First meeting between the two, but I see a nice match-up advantage for the Monegasque. 1/ His best shot is the backhand, so I don’t really see him being too bothered by Damm’s forehand. 2/ He’s an excellent returner/counter-puncher/passer, perfect to neutralize the strengths of the American, who comes forward a lot. 3/ He serves very well, which should allow him to protect his service games against a relatively weak returner.