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4 matches, 4 defeats for Val’—it’s time to get going

Four losses, sure, but I feel like Royer is on the rise. The first two matches really weren’t great, but his match against Fritz at the AO and his match in Montpellier against Fils were actually very good. I really like this player and even if he’s hitting a real bump in his progression, I’m still optimistic for him and I expect him to get back on track fairly quickly.

O’Connell also had an Australian swing well below his expectations, but things are looking better in Europe, with a nice match against RBA in Montpellier and especially some very clean qualifying rounds here. I saw him yesterday against a Gaston who really wasn’t in form, but he played a good, solid match and you can feel his confidence slowly coming back.

Despite his bad run, Royer is the bookmakers’ favorite, which seems a bit risky to me against an opponent who’s a little ahead of him in terms of regaining confidence.