RUTHLESS

Kopriva won in 58 minutes in his first-round match against Zhang.

The Czech played the perfect match, inspired on serve and lethal in the rallies, he simply smothered and countered Zhang, who imploded after a set. A real performance that also makes me realize he gains power in these conditions, and that’s exactly what he might be missing elsewhere. So we’ve got a player who’s technically and tactically skilled, who can hit a few more winners and who plays some slightly unusual zones at times, his down‑the‑line backhand catches quite a few people off guard. A magnificent first round then, but after that he runs into Rublev; there were definitely better seeds to draw because the Russian is coming back strong.

A final in Barcelona and some really convincing matches, I loved Rublev’s week both tennis‑wise and mentally, it must feel good for him. He comes in confident to a tournament he’s already won, he could become a potential outsider this week with his hitting power in these conditions. Against a player like Kopriva he’s supposed to be able to attack hard and dictate the game, but I’m very wary of the start of the match because the balls are really flying and there’s a bit of adjustment to make. If Kopriva starts as strong as he did in the first round and stops Rublev from dictating play, then I think the Czech is capable of causing him problems. On the other hand, a good start from Rublev and aggression on every point would put him in an ideal position for an easy win.

The odds will decide the choice, I don’t really feel like laying Rublev right now but in my opinion he’s going to be super low and we’ll have to consider a bet on Kopriva’s side.