Fast and flat

Two players with a somewhat similar playing style in some respects!

I had the chance to follow both of them during the Challengers after Indian Wells and the takeaway is roughly the same: they have big drops in intensity/level during their matches, but I’d say Agut manages them better. The Spaniard wins just a tiny bit more matches, but the overall results are pretty poor even though his level is honestly good; it’s physically that he almost always breaks down. I saw him in Cap Cana beating Goffin, but he had his usual slump in the second set before getting calmed down by Royer afterwards; it’s good up to a certain point, let’s say. His recent matches go in that direction, including his win over Marozsan (with a huge level of play), and there too, it was because the Hungarian was spraying balls all over the court and wasn’t engaging in long rallies.

Duckworth is kind of in the same situation but without the wins; he wins even less, but the idea is similar. He played a good match against Svrcina in IW (well, mostly a good second set but he lacked ruthlessness) and he took a set off Borges in Phoenix before losing. He plays well in phases; it’s not a physical issue for him. He struggles to maintain a good level of play over an entire match, but there are some positive signs.

Historically, it’s been tight, 2–0 Duckworth but both wins in a deciding tie-break, which is quite representative of what they can put each other through in this kind of first round. However, Agut has an excellent record in Miami with a quarterfinal and a semifinal; the power he lacks is compensated by the speed of the courts, which makes his shots a bit more damaging. I’d say the Spaniard is in slightly better form and is the logical favorite in this match, but...