Good opportunity for the Serb?

Every match counts double for the Serb Dusan Lajovic who, approaching 36 years old, is ranked around 130th in the world. He’s in a sort of no man’s land in the rankings, having to play quite a few qualifiers, and here in Madrid he has the chance—although he deserves his win—to face three players who are either not in their best form or are not clay-court players. He now finds himself up against another player who isn’t a clay-court specialist either, the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

Without being a specialist, Arthur has played well so far in these two tournaments on Western clay, taking a set off the Brazilian Fonseca, and in Munich losing to the same opponent. What’s interesting with the Frenchman is the substance of his game. And let’s not forget that he has Roland Garros in his sights.

The conditions naturally favor the Frenchman, with his quality of serve and his game built around short points, but the Serb is solid and experienced. However, his one-handed backhand is likely to be targeted by Arthur.

What worries me for Arthur, on the other hand, is that the clay is a bit less heavy here and he’ll be sliding a bit more than in Monte Carlo and Munich if he plays under sunny conditions. So it’s potentially a slightly trickier match-up for the Serb, but his motivation and familiarity with these conditions, having already played three matches here, could give him a real edge. We’ll really have to react according to the odds.