One last walk

The phoenix Baez rises from his ashes in Auckland while Mensik moves closer to a new title

This isn't the final we were expecting! Baez on hard courts is often very average, not to say terrible; with his height and lack of power, he quickly finds himself in trouble. But he maintains such solidity from the baseline that he remains a frustrating Argentinian to play against everywhere, and he's shown it again this week. His level of play is outrageous; he makes very few mistakes, plays with rhythm, and is extremely motivated. Even his serve seems better than before; he's worked hard to improve his performance on fast surfaces, and I remind you that he already has a hard court title in Winston-Salem, just before a Grand Slam, what a coincidence! Facing him is the Czech player Mensik, who has been a bit lost for the past few months but seems very happy this week. He's smiling on the court and enjoying himself, which is why he's racking up wins and gaining confidence. His serve is monstrous and really helps him stay ahead of his opponents, but the rest isn't perfect, especially his forehand, which remains a major weakness. Yesterday against Marozsan, he never managed to return or hit effectively on that side. He also has significant physical and mental lapses, and we don't really know why. He's losing some sets by a wide margin. He's obviously the bookies' favorite for this final; he's incredibly powerful and much more effective than Baez on hard courts. But when you compare their tournaments, do you see Mensik as better? Off his serve, I found him much less effective than Baez. The Argentinian will struggle on the return, but I don't forget that he's already beaten Shelton, for example, and that he knows how to compete against this type of player.