FAA like in 2024?

A finalist two years ago, FAA is one of the main outsiders to watch.

The conditions in Madrid are excellent for the Canadian, who can really make his serve work as well as the weight of his forehand. He has the game to be good on this kind of clay, and overall he has the level this season to go far. The only downside is he just pulled out of Barcelona, I don’t know why; if it was a deliberate choice to avoid playing too much, then that’s perfect. We’ll keep an eye on the start of the match to see if it was an injury. For his first round he draws Gaubas, who took out Baez.

The young Lithuanian is coming from the qualifiers and is progressing well this season. He’s not doing anything spectacular, but he’s a solid baseline player and he’s been gaining power this week. He’s confident and already has three wins. He’s the kind of first-round opponent you have to be wary of, because he’ll be relaxed and already happy with his tournament, while FAA will need to find his bearings and get his week started.

FAA still seems well equipped to perform this week and against this type of player. Here too you can feel that if we’re getting the bad Felix live, Gaubas is the one you should be pushing.