Machac confident, Tsitsipas with his back against the wall

A revival for the Greek—who still dares to believe in it?

Tomas Machac followed up perfectly after his title in Adelaide, outclassing a Dimitrov still very far from his best level. The matches came in quick succession, but the Czech handled it with a lot of maturity, without unnecessarily dipping into his reserves. A clear win, which gives him real prospects for the rest of the tournament.

A good start as well for Stefanos Tsitsipas. After a laborious first set, the Greek gradually got the measure of Mochizuki, whom he beats for the second time in three weeks. The level of play is still improvable, but the main thing is there: the victory and a minimum of confidence gained.

Logically, the market very quickly moved towards Machac, given the current dynamics. For my part, I remain a bit more measured. There could be, if not real physical fatigue, at least a form of mental wear and tear on Machac’s side after such an intense run of matches. And above all, despite his current struggles, this match seems to me to fit quite well with Tsitsipas’s profile.

Stefanos is going through a complicated period, struggling to rediscover his feel and his tennis, but here he ultimately doesn’t have much to lose. On the contrary, he stands to gain a lot in this kind of match-up, facing a player riding a great wave of success. In this context, Machac is the favorite, yes, but I don’t necessarily see this as a walk in the park for the Czech.