Still no?

We’re just waiting for the moment when Bublik is going to lose it and turn back into his old self that we loved to lay.

That moment doesn’t seem to have come yet, Bublik sums up the situation well: I don’t have many points to defend before Roland, so why not try to go as high as possible? In other words, as long as he can climb in the rankings, we’re pretty much sure he’s going to show up. So yes, he has a loss to Griekspoor in Dubai, but the Dutchman is a pain when he’s playing well and it’s not at all the same type of opponent he’ll face tomorrow. A clay-courter who’s a pain to handle, but that’s not the kind of profile that usually bothers Bublik; basically he does almost everything better and we’re on hard court anyway.

Kopriva beat Zheng as a lucky loser, but in a mirror match-up where his baseline tenacity made his opponent crack, with no solution to take time away from him in a slow night session. Not at all the same kind of match ahead of him now, and above all it’s not going to be decided on his side of the net. A good Bublik will get too many free points on serve and be solid enough from the baseline to get through. As much as I love Kopriva, I really don’t see how he can manage to swing this match his way. It would mostly require Bublik to be mentally absent and more nervous than anything else.