Temptation

When Basilashvili comes out of qualifying by putting up big scores, it's often a good idea to trust him.

I really liked Basilashvili in Phoenix so I backed him against Kypson in the first round of qualies here, he destroyed him 6–3 6–1. Yesterday he played against Shimabukuro, the Japanese guy is in form and dangerous, Basi won 6–3 6–1. We know how old man Basilashvili is, he disappears for months and then suddenly his tennis clicks again and he can play at a top‑20 level without exaggeration, his ball striking is legendary. So obviously when you see that kind of level and such one‑sided scorelines it really makes you want to back him, but on the other side of the net we’ve also got a player in form.

Navone has just won Cap Cana after a disastrous Golden Swing, he’d already started getting his head straight again last week by taking a set off Giron, but it’s really this challenger title that’s going to do him good. Level of play was super interesting all week but the conditions were XXL for him: it was slow with a high bounce + heat/wind, a trap for all the hard‑court players and Navone had a field day! So now he’s confident and ready to keep it going, but the conditions are changing completely and he’s playing a guy who looks on fire… Not easy. With his solidity from the baseline he can hang in there and make Basilashvili crack, but on the other hand the Georgian is simply better on fast hard courts when he’s fully unleashing his game.