Borges finds his smile again and springs a surprise?

The Portuguese player has just had a good tournament in Barcelona and can be dangerous on a fast clay court this week, not so easy for Navone.

Borges doesn’t really have a clay-courter’s game, but he’s still a good tennis player who can play at a top level when he’s feeling the ball well, and he still has real mental strength. We saw it in Monte Carlo and then in Barcelona where he was inspired in his offensive game. He takes a lot of risks, but that’s not a bad thing, and he seems to be gradually getting back to his level. Madrid could be a good tournament with favorable conditions for him if he keeps trying to hurt his opponent as much during rallies. Logically, he should have the upper hand in the match against Navone, who isn’t the most powerful or enterprising. The Argentine can obviously dictate play, but he’s strong from the baseline to hang in there, and in my opinion it’ll be Borges who’s the aggressor most of the time.

Navone is in form after his title in Bucharest, but unfortunately he didn’t get a good draw in Barcelona, running into Rublev, the future finalist, in the first round. His match was good despite losing in the end, he’s pretty strong right now and naturally he’s stronger on clay than Borges. He’s played this tournament twice and did fairly well each time: two wins and two three-set losses against Shelton and Rune. He gains power thanks to the altitude and his trajectories really push his opponents back. He’ll be strong again this week and, given his confidence, he’s supposed to play some good tennis.

1–1 in the H2H, an easy win for Navone on clay and a hard-fought win for Borges on hard. I think Borges might end up forcing his game and piling up errors if Navone turns into a wall and manages to push him back properly as well. We shouldn’t forget that Borges has “only” beaten Mannarino and then Etche in Barcelona; we’re talking about just two wins and that’s it.