Elementary, my dear Walton!

The Australian is en fuego and showing a really good level at the moment. Not exactly a gift for a first round...

While he had a poor start to the season, Walton was putting together a good match here and there, even a good set in a given match. You could see a player who was pushing, trying to improve, working in the shadows. Because since his first high-level set against Paul in Delray Beach, he’s just been playing well, plain and simple. He’s always been known for the quality of his serve, but now I see a tough-as-nails player who makes few errors from the baseline and is capable of holding his own against quite a few good baseliners...

Well, well, talking about baseliners, are we? The Argentine Baez is also showing a good level on outdoor hard courts, surprisingly better than on clay this year, actually. Still, nothing to get carried away with either. His run in Indian Wells was clearly helped by a tired Tseng and a Lehecka who was just plain bad. And in Miami? It’s simple: in 4 appearances, he simply hasn’t made it past a single round. I think his lack of serving quality and the low bounce make the conditions a bit tougher for him. He has to battle twice as much. He just so happens to get better results when the bounce is high: Auckland, Winston-Salem...

In terms of match-up, there’s the quality of serve of course, but also the fact that Walton is a baseliner who has nothing at all to be ashamed of compared to Baez, and who will really make him work hard in his service games. Walton played a very solid match against the good but tired version of Hijikata. He’s hard to hit through because he reads the game well. I see him as the favorite in this match if it’s sunny and hot, and pretty much a coin flip if it’s cold and damp.