The hard-working ones

No pure talent here, but a strong work ethic, which is often a much better quality!

And what if Dino Prizmic pulled the same trick on us again? It’s 2024, the young Croatian is 18 years old. He qualifies for the first round of the Australian Open to face… Novak Djokovic. Young Dino then produces an exceptional performance that will fuel a lot of hope. Unfortunately, he’ll get injured a bit too often in 2024 and will be a solid Challenger player in 2025, despite a few appearances here and there in the main draw of some 250 events. Up against the local Duckworth, who’s become quite dangerous lately, the task looks extremely tricky. Especially since I found Dino’s tennis rather laboured, not to say sterile, against Arthur Fery in the final qualifying round. In terms of match-up, Duck knows how to mix up trajectories and playing styles, whereas Prizmic is quite one-dimensional. The Croatian is a mini-Djoko, without the quality of serve. So I think Duck will have the freedom, so to speak, to build his points around his serve, his forehand, and his backhand slice, to break down a fairly predictable game. But be careful, it’s not that simple. Duck still has a game that’s limited in terms of average level. He’s just been blown away by Machac in a match-up that had suited him in the past. The pressure is on his shoulders. Prizmic is a lucky loser, and he’s 20 years old...