Banger?

Right off the bat I’m thinking of a Fokina who’s way too strong in this match-up, but am I really managing to gauge Michelsen properly after all this time? Not so sure...

The American had to put in a very good match to overcome a Grigor Dimitrov who is still lacking a bit of rhythm to sustain his best level. Yet one of Michelsen’s strengths is being that resilient. That will be important against a Fokina who can have fluctuations in level. Because even though the Spaniard also had to play a great match to get rid of a very dangerous Zachary Svajda in straight sets, he could easily have been dragged into a third set. His level, especially on return, is still reassuring. But damn, Michelsen will surely be very good today in my opinion. My read on the match is that the momentum will swing back and forth and could potentially give us a tight three-setter. First meeting between the two men as well...