Long journey

Rublev is one of the players who got stuck in Dubai; he arrived here very late.

That's the main question for this match: how is Rublev going to handle it? He was pretty chill and relaxed in the press conference talking about it. He said that sometimes players arrive a week early for a tournament and then lose in the first round, and other times they show up with no preparation and go deep in the draw. He's almost getting philosophical! He also said he didn’t do much for several days and needed to stretch his legs. I’m not necessarily worried, but it’s something to keep in mind. On top of that, he’s coming in after a few good matches, which reassures me. He must feel like he’s playing better again and doesn’t seem bothered. For this first round he’s facing the dangerous Diallo, an occasional giant-killer. It’s not his best period right now, but he was super dialed in motivation-wise in his first-round match. He also beat a guy he rarely beats, which earns him a bit of respect, let’s say. Just a bit and not more, because the level of the match was pretty average overall. His serve was nothing special and he was solid from the baseline, but Bellucci didn’t attack him enough, which Rublev will do whenever he can. It’s really just this travel issue that annoys me, because otherwise I like the conditions and the match-up for Rublev. A fairly slow hard court is perfect for him; even against a profile like Diallo, he should have enough time to dictate play and impose his intensity!