But what a great choice!!

Son skipped Monte Carlo, he really doesn’t want to mess things up and I think it’s yet another sign of the new Arthur since he came back from injury

What a pleasure to see a monstrous player take the time to manage his schedule (Rune, we’re talking to you), Fils has been playing hardened steel since his return but every time he can/has to skip a tournament to recover properly, he does it, and I applaud that. That was already the case after Doha and we saw that it paid off during the Sunshine Double. We’ll see if it’s another good choice this time, but in the long term it’s absolutely certain that yes, his body will thank him. First match of the year on clay though, should we expect some rough edges? Surely yes, like everyone else, but his game is so natural on clay that I’m convinced he’ll already arrive stronger than 95% of the tour on it. His kick serve, the heaviness of his forehand, his movement, it was already huge before, but given the tactical adjustments/in his game that he’s made since, I don’t see how he could play badly on clay. Maybe a bit of tension, but I’m expecting an excellent Fils this week in a tournament he already likes, quarterfinal in 2024, semifinal in 2025, he’s at home here.

Nakashima is going to have to find his best tennis again all of a sudden because he’s kind of lost his way lately in my opinion. He’s still just as serious and disciplined, but as soon as he has to reach a higher level, he’s limited because he’s missing too many small things. He frequently cracks in the hot moments, his serve is ultra (too?) important for him. His game on clay takes a real hit, his wins/losses have nothing to do with what they are on other surfaces, he beats top players even more rarely (Rublev here a few years ago), and the rest is pretty weak. His movement is far from Fils’, and he’s doing what he can to adapt rather than really impose his own game.

2–1 Nakashima in the H2H, two wins on hard and one loss in 3 sets on clay but that was in 2023, since then Fils has become one of the best players in the world and still has a HUGE advantage on this surface.