The indestructible Tabilo

What a February for the Chilean! 17 matches, including 9 in 3 sets, 5 different tournaments, 3 of them at home in Chile if you count the Davis Cup... In what state is he going to arrive here?

It's starting to be a lot for the Chilean Tabilo, especially since he was labeled as a player who struggles to back up matches physically. We've seen him several times, especially after the Auckland tournament at the start of the year, really exhausted. Here, on top of the physical expenditure, there's a huge emotional drain with these three tournaments in his country. When you know how patriotic Chileans are, that's something you have to factor in. His last match in Santiago against Baez, in which he gave everything and faced a good Baez, was on February 28, so five days ago, with a trip three days later, three days of rest in Chile and an arrival in Indian Wells, in Palm Springs, with proper rest only two days ago. That's not a lot for the Chilean to recover. But he's a guy who has grit, and I don’t know why, but I feel like he can keep going, maybe carried by adrenaline, and maybe the backlash will come later—or maybe it hits right away and I’m wrong. In any case, Indian Wells is a tournament he likes, if only for the conditions that suit his game: fast enough for his serve to be effective, and at the same time slow enough with a high bounce so that the conditions resemble clay. So I really like the conditions for Tabilo, and I also like the match-up against his opponent today, the Spaniard Jodar, because this match looks a bit like the one the Spaniard played against Atmane in Acapulco. The Spaniard hits big, it’s really beautiful, pure, modern tennis, but against Tabilo it’s not easy, especially since we’ve got a lefty who knows how to neutralize, who knows how to loop the ball and who has experience in the big moments, in managing those phases, and who simply feels the game—tennis IQ. When you look at the young Spaniard’s losses this season, against Mensik, against Fritz, and against Atmane, you really see either an unfavorable match-up or a bit of experience or a solid wall on the other side of the net, and in those situations it’s tough for him—and there’s no blame there, he’s already very good for his age. So, beyond the issue of playing so many matches in a row, Tabilo’s profile really interests me in this match. So in my opinion, I would go for a small to medium stake pre-match, and I’d follow it live to see how good Tabilo feels physically. That’s my analysis.