The Italian puzzle

Big display here, since the Pole is showing great form with, in particular, a very strong serve and confidence regained in Monte Carlo. On the other side, the Italian openly says he’s not yet at 100%, that he’s still lacking in readiness, especially physically. We saw it against Arthur Fils in his last match in Barcelona, where after just two matches he really dropped in physical intensity against the Frenchman.

There are nevertheless two things that work in the Italian’s favor. The first is the conditions in Madrid, which suit him a lot. He openly says again that it’s something he likes, and his performances here prove it. The conditions also suit the Pole, who is really serving well. The second thing that somewhat makes up for the Italian is the fact that he was able to play his three matches in Barcelona, which helped him get back into the swing of things a bit. He’s still not at 100%, and we saw that against Arthur Fils in his last match in Barcelona. In Monte Carlo, he only had the chance to play one match. The more matches he plays, the more he’ll regain his physical form.

Now, the match-up will be tricky for Lorenzo. He has to deal both with a big serving quality and a Pole who can be very solid from the baseline. And who can make his opponents play, as he showed on the much slower clay in Monte Carlo. It’s not an easy decision to make; you have to gauge as well as possible the Italian’s plans and progress over the very last few days.