The Russian puzzle

Even though Daniil shows up with a level I find pretty average, here he is up against a guy who’s never managed to take a set off him!

Well, this analysis isn’t that easy because I actually didn’t find Daniil very sharp against Baez. He gets the job done, but he doesn’t transcend himself. What’s tricky with him is that he’s coming off an exceptional Dubai tournament where he handed out nothing but beatdowns, but in his three previous tournaments—pardon the expression—it was bad Daniil. On the other hand, like I said, he does the job against opponents within his reach, and Michelsen could very well be one of them. The American is playing good tennis here in IW. Unlike Daniil, I feel like the slightly slower conditions favor his game. We shouldn’t get too carried away about his win over Fritz though, because Fritz played well below his best level. However—and this is where it gets worrying—the match-up is scary. Let’s list it out: Daniil returns very well, and serve is an important weapon in Michelsen’s game. Daniil excels in long rallies and Michelsen less so; he can even get tired. The American is going to have to keep moving forward, but he needs to realize that if he stays a bit more at the back to construct his point and attack when he should, Daniil won’t hurt him that much. And that’s the whole art of the analysis: trying to anticipate Michelsen’s strategy. I say he mustn’t rush the net, quite the opposite. He’s doing that well here in IW! If he understands this, and if the books have priced Daniil too low, there will be something to do…