Another earthling in danger

Etcheverry on clay is a real pain to beat, but in Madrid against a fired‑up Ofner, it’s far from a sure win in advance

Quite disappointed by Etcheverry’s match in Barcelona against Borges, it really wasn’t great and far too passive in the end. Even in Monte Carlo or Houston he loses sets against players he’s supposed to dominate comfortably on clay, but every time he gets bogged down in tricky matches because he’s not a killer and his main strength is wearing his opponents down. The problem is he’s never dominant and always leaves openings; when you play against him you can exist and believe you have a chance. His track record in Madrid isn’t really good, yet you’d immediately think of his serve + forehand, but no, it just doesn’t click.

Whereas Ofner looks like a dangerous profile this week, the Austrian is strong on clay at altitude, he already has good references on this type of clay and already has 19 wins this season (a bunch in Challengers, but that’s great for confidence). We know him: he disappears and then when he comes back on tour he can beat some big names thanks to his quality serve and aggressive game. He’s a guy you shouldn’t underestimate, especially not in this tournament. He beat Basilashvili in the first round, 18 aces and a well-oiled attacking game. Tomorrow he’ll be facing a totally different match-up, but he’s still capable of springing a surprise; he’s already beaten Etcheverry in Gstaad on altitude clay as well, in 2023.

Intrinsically we all see Etcheverry pulling through, but I don’t see an Argentine overflowing with calm and confidence right now. Against a player capable of imposing his own pace in these conditions, it doesn’t look good.