Hanfmann all the way?

The German had some minor stomach problems yesterday despite the win

With Hanfmann it’s always the same: we have high expectations when he plays well, but he almost always disappoints. Yesterday against Gaubas, it’s a match he should win in straight sets much more easily, but he messed around and basically gifted the first set. He did pull himself together afterwards, but he’s really not that smart on court and his attitude is up and down. The altitude is incredible for his game and you can feel he can hit with top players, but it doesn’t seem easy for him to be the favorite. I’m quite hopeful that as an underdog he’ll be much stronger tonight. We’ll keep an eye on his possible stomach issues, but yesterday he finished really strong without really looking hampered, so it doesn’t worry me much.

A big challenge is waiting for him, he’s down 5–1 in the head-to-head against Cerundolo! The Argentine handles him well, but it’s rarely easy all the same. Last year he won here in a deciding tie-break for example, Hanfmann wasn’t far off. It’s not surprising in these conditions: with his serve and his style of play he can definitely do something. Cerundolo comes in having lost very few games, but we especially need to point out that his opponents completely fell apart; Nava was disastrous yesterday… He still hasn’t really been tested this week and this match looks like the first real big challenge. A lot of things are in his favor, but I still expect a relatively tight match.