How far will Alex go?

The Slovak keeps going after his excellent tournament in Bucharest; he’s doing it again here in Munich and it’s a great story. The 28-year-old had knee surgery, maybe even on another part of his body, and had to find his way back to winning and to a good level of play, which is never easy in top-level tennis. So here he is coming back, climbing 59 spots thanks to this tournament and moving up, for now, to 107th in the world. With his crafty defender’s style, his marathon-like endurance, and his tricky left-handed game, Alex bothers a lot of players. Now, when I see the American Shelton making it to the semifinals, it’s always a bit scary. On the one hand, the fact that the American is also left-handed takes away one of the Slovak’s natural weapons, which is being able to attack the backhand of many right-handed players. There’s also the quality of the American’s serve, which gives him free points and pushes Alex back. And then there’s above all his management of power versus patience, of drop shots versus coming to the net. The American’s game is much more complete, and I think he has the game intelligence not to let himself get caught in the Slovak’s game-style trap. So I don’t see much hope for Alex, who I think will hit his limits here, but those are already fine limits, and if he ends up losing, he’ll have nothing to be ashamed of regarding his comeback and his tournament here in Munich.