The little cow

Vacherot’s been unlucky with the draw but every time he plays his matches well, this time it’s the right one!

I think he really does live up to expectations anyway, I don't have a match in mind where I thought his level wasn't there, this year he's only had “logical” losses against good players and it's never a beatdown. He systematically takes a set or loses in a tiebreak; at the same time with the quality of his serve he's protected. I think I’d put him among the top servers on tour, he’s so comfortable and can hit any spot. With fast conditions in Miami he'll be tough to beat again this week, and on top of that he’s coming in with the confidence from his doubles final in IW. It’s going to take something big to knock him out!

Navone’s the one who’s going to have to deal with him. The Argentinian has had a pretty unexpected resurgence in form after his poor start to the season. He just took the title in Cap Cana and backed it up by taking out Basilashvili, despite a good choke from the Georgian in the first set. Navone played his role as defender perfectly, making his opponent implode, a tactic that works against erratic profiles, but I’m not convinced it’ll be enough against Vacherot who also knows how to come to the net or use his head.

I see Vacherot a notch above, whether it’s on serve or even in terms of the potential match-up; in any case he’s got the weapons to do it.