A whole different story

Winner in Miami 6–1 6–3, Paul shouldn’t get off so easily this time

We’re going from Miami on a fast hard court to Houston with a muddy/crappy clay and slow conditions, not really to Paul’s advantage on paper. On the other hand, the American already has a good clay background: quarter-final at Roland, junior champion, he knows how to play on clay and above all he wants to get back into the top 10. His goal is to win as many matches as possible, and that’s exactly what I saw in his first round against Vallejo. Young Vallejo overplayed in the first set and Paul had to find solutions to grind and come back; he did it perfectly with some interesting net play. I don’t think this is the easiest tournament for him, but he’s going to fight, and with the huge confidence he has at the start of this year, he’s ready to go further than in previous years.

He’ll still have to beat Etcheverry, who is a model of tenacity, as shown in his first two rounds. Whether against Gomez or Bolt, two much weaker players, he lost the first set by playing badly in conditions that were far from ideal for his game. He got back on track right after and ended up winning fairly comfortably, but I’m not convinced by the Argentinian this week. This clay in Houston isn’t great for him, it’s slow and his forehand doesn’t do much damage, and I also find that his movement is affected. Historically he’s played well here, but there’s a bit more wind this week and the clay also seems heavier, enough to bother him a fair bit.

I understand the argument of ‘Paul in a small clay tournament’ that you can use to lay him against an Etche who’s ready to give his life in every match, but I found Paul involved enough and ready to battle in his tricky first round. He seems capable of winning again.