The two brothers

Zachary Svajda, 110th, came through qualifying and is playing Foki today. Not to be confused with Trevor, 363rd, who has a WC for the main draw. Thanks, USTA!

Well, let me say it straight away: I wasn’t exactly blown away by Zachary’s performance yesterday in qualifying against Boyer. I think Boyer missed quite a few chances to get back into the match, and Zachary had a clear drop in level to lose the second set. That said, he’s still the one who won, and there were some solid, convincing passages. So I’m talking about consistency at his best level. And playing a 250 in Dallas, with his brother in the main draw, I don’t think that’s something that’s happened to them very often in their lives. So I’m expecting huge motivation here. And he’s going to need it against the little Spanish devil. Foki had left us practically on one leg against Paul at the Australian Open. Left hamstring injury, he couldn’t really push off on serve and on the backhand. But I think he’s recovered well, because here he is on a swing he really enjoyed last season with his two consecutive finals in Delray and Acapulco. Every season is different, you’ll tell me. That’s true. On the other hand, there’s another reality: I was really convinced by the Spaniard’s level in Australia. It’s also a match-up that I think will suit him here. If we get a focused Foki, he’ll win this match, no matter how motivated Svajda is. We’re still talking about a Foki first round coming back from injury against an overmotivated local player coming from qualies, but isn’t that exactly where the trap lies?