Still enough juice?

Berrettini cracked during the second round last week because he was completely burned out; in one week, has he increased his reserves?

It was already a big test for Berrettini in his first round here against Barrios, who played a really strong match. The Italian had to dig deep and he found his usual clutchness again with 5/5 break points saved, a tiebreak won, and the ends of sets handled much better. This version of Berrettini is still dangerous! Now, his tennis isn’t the issue, it’s what he said last week after his loss to Kopriva: he reminded everyone that he’s mainly looking for rhythm and intensity since his comeback. Playing matches back-to-back is his worst enemy. That’ll have to be watched very closely tomorrow in any case, even with a rest day.

He’ll be facing old man Lajovic, who’s back in the spotlight with a Lucky Loser status and a nice performance in the first round against Altmaier in a good-quality match. He’s still capable of pulling off some big wins too, and his game is pleasant to watch. He’s still got plenty left in the tank and absolutely nothing to lose! What I’m really wondering about is the upcoming match-up – it’s the first time they’ve played each other! I’m a bit worried about Berrettini’s kick serve on Lajovic’s one-handed backhand, but apart from that it really looks like a big baseline battle in the making! We can hope for a war, with Berrettini normally being more clutch in the key moments – or he might once again feel the physical toll and fade away.