Zhang just doesn’t stop!

Crowned challenger only a few days ago, the run is tough for the Chinese player, but he’s so confident that it works out.

I can see that he was really serious today despite the tight schedule; playing Carballes in the first round of an ATP 500 on hard is still a big opportunity. He controlled his match well, not much to say about it since it’s often the same story with him. Huge serving quality, massive forehand, and a backhand that keeps things solid, let’s put it that way. I also find him more inspired in the short game this season; I admit his United Cup had pretty much convinced me and he seems to be confirming that. Now he’s as relaxed as can be with nothing to lose in this tournament, he’s going to be dangerous!

Dangerous for Mensik then! The Czech already had a long first round against an excellent Choinsky who was completely overplaying; I can’t even say it was a bad Mensik, honestly. Sometimes the Czech hits doubles, his forehand lets him down and he gets tired quickly, but not this time! He served well, stayed solid from the baseline, and his forehand seemed less awful, let’s say. He’s comfortable on return and that’s the key point of the match for me; he’s going to do damage on serve while perfectly countering Zhang on the return. He likes being in this kind of situation and should come through in the end.