Rematch

Davis Cup 2025 rematch, and I was there!

The two men played each other in a Davis Cup match in Monaco, just after the Australian Open last season. After that Australian swing, Borges wasn’t really feeling great, a bit tired during the match, so I’m not taking that match into account, especially since it was played on an outside clay court in Monte Carlo. It came right after a pretty good run from the Portuguese player at the Australian Open, so I won’t hold it against him. As for the Monegasque, I think he’s doing fine, but nothing more. He can’t seem to find his best level this season, even though he’s confirming that he really is worth his ranking and that he’s not a fraud. I feel like he’s missing that great ability he has to fight from the baseline, to hit passing shots and to serve well at the right moments – all those little things that make a player win one or two extra matches in every tournament. He doesn’t have them right now. On Borges’ side, the Portuguese is in the same situation, except that we’ve seen a very encouraging first round, because beating an American 2 sets to 0 for Borges, given the state he’s in, shows that he’s playing properly, mainly thanks to his mentality. There, I think there’s been an improvement, so it could be quite tricky for Valentin, not that easy. Depending on the odds, if the Monegasque is too much of a favorite, I’d lean a bit more towards the Portuguese, knowing that the hard-court match-up would be slightly more in favor of the Monegasque. But for me, there’s not much in it, so depending on the odds I think I’ll look for a tough match for both players rather than picking a winner, unless the Portuguese is priced way too high.