Hiji king of the one shot?

Hijikata has already made a breakthrough similar to what he's doing this week, we have to take him seriously!

And what if the Australian turned out to be the surprise of the tournament? He came through the qualifiers and just knocked out Darderi, so yeah, it wasn’t the best seed in the draw but who cares, he’s in the round of 16 and playing really well! These courts suit him, he’s very mobile and covers his court perfectly, and his serve is really clicking too, which is giving him more free points than usual. That’s for the positives, now I’ll also have to be tough on him. There isn’t a single player close to Bublik’s level among the guys he’s beaten in this tournament, the level is actually pretty weak for someone who’s in the last 16. He also has issues closing out sets/matches, double faults can pile up when he’s under pressure. Despite a good week, I think he’s reaching his limit here.

Bublik is on another level and the Kazakh has shown again in the first round that you can still rely on him right now. He lost the first set to a red-hot Kopriva but didn’t panic and managed the second part of the match really well; he used to lose tons of matches like that before, but not anymore. He’s focused and disciplined. If he stays serious tomorrow he can cruise into the last 16 and pick up some points. It’s not even his game that impresses me, it’s his new match management; he’s learning how to win while playing only average sometimes, and that’s reassuring. Last year he beat this same Hijikata in Phoenix in 3 sets, but he served for the match at 6/2 5/4, which could have made it a very one-sided but deserved scoreline. Hijikata doesn’t really have the profile to beat him and it all depends on Bublik.