A quarter of a Dream!

Fils/Musetti on clay is a real treat, isn’t it?

Well, I’m not all that sure about this one. I feel like it’s kind of an “in‑between” tournament for Fils and Musetti. The Frenchman is coming back from his training block and he didn’t expect to play this well today against Nakashima after his tricky first‑round match. I think he’d sort of accepted that his work would start paying off in a few tournaments, not right away. At least he’s not putting pressure on himself, but yeah, to me the situation looks pretty clear. What’s cool though is that today he really played like steel!

For Musetti, this tournament is about getting his rhythm back, building up his physical engine and gradually raising his level, you can clearly feel it. And I can tell you his win over Moutet today was anything but easy, he really struggled. He was still tight and nervous, and I’m not even sure he noticed that Moutet couldn’t hit a backhand. I really don’t think he’s feeling right at all. His level isn’t as good as before and I really don’t get the sense that he can suddenly crank it up. I don’t know if I’m being too harsh on him or if that’s just the reality.

I think this is a match that depends a lot on the physical side. If Arthur is solid and brings real high intensity without giving away too many free points, then I’m almost convinced he can get the better of Musetti over the long run. The Italian is lacking confidence and he’s playing a guy in great form who, in my opinion, is simply playing better than him.