Tabilo the favorite, no surprise?

Logic would say Tabilo should win, but with him we’re often disappointed…

Honestly I was surprised by Tabilo’s level all last week in Buenos Aires! He went to a Challenger in Chile, then he played the Davis Cup. I didn’t see all his matches but I’d left him for dead after a disgusting start to the season, nothing to really get excited about for what was coming next. Except I saw the excellent Tabilo again, and when he plays like that he’s a top player! Great serving quality with his lefty touch, a reliable, commanding forehand, a flat backhand that does the job, and he’s also willing to grind in long rallies, which is generally a good sign for him. Absolutely nothing negative to say about his recent matches; if he keeps this up he’s going to put together some strong results.

For Nava it’s less clear, let’s say. Last week he showed his worst side against Navone by doing whatever came into his head. Double faults, awful unforced errors from the baseline, smashing his racquet—everything we hate about him and that he had started to cut out. His excuse is that he was coming back from a long trip for the Davis Cup and a change of surface, which is actually quite a fair point. I’ll also add that it was Navone on the other side of the net, not some average clay courter. With a week of rest, some clay-court training and a good preparation, in theory we should see a fitter Nava tomorrow! But is that enough? I don’t really like the conditions to be honest, it’s pretty heavy and slow, not the kind of clay that suits him, and above all, for me, Tabilo has the right mix of powerful/aggressive game and baseline solidity to blow him up.