A bit of a slump?

Darderi crashed out in the first round in Rio, are we betting on a big tournament from him this week or another quick defeat?

To soften Darderi’s loss in Rio a bit, you have to say that the sequence was way too tough in terms of conditions and fatigue, even Cerundolo retired in the second round. Poor Darderi had to face JM Cerundolo on heavy clay on top of that, a nightmare opponent to deal with ESPECIALLY when you’re tired. I can’t really blame him for that kind of loss, I’d be much more critical if he loses tonight for example. Because now he’s rested and he’s prepared this tournament properly, no excuses! It’s a tricky first round to handle though, the one waiting for him, Navone is a real trap when he’s in form and historically the Argentine always gives him a hard time.

It’s 4–3 for Navone in the H2H but they didn’t meet last year, and that’s important to point out because to me Darderi has really stepped up since then, he’s gained experience and improved across the board while Navone has stagnated a bit, let’s be honest. The Argentine isn’t in great form either, and yeah his draws haven’t been easy, but when I saw his first set against Kopriva yesterday it was dreadful, he couldn’t put a ball in the court and it’s almost normal for him to have a set where he completely falls apart, luckily his opponent was dead tired. I’m really excited by how Darderi has been playing recently.

I don’t want to overrate Darderi too much either but the conditions also seem excellent for him this week, with his serve quality and massive forehand he’s supposed to do a lot of damage. I still haven’t seen the great Navone I used to find insanely good, he’s sluggish and nowhere near his best; unless he suddenly finds his form again, I don’t think he should be winning tonight.