Any chance for a cramp, man?

Terence Atmane will have to face today a player who is difficult to hit through from the baseline, and who forces a physical battle on many of his opponents. Knowing that the Frenchman had cramps at the end of the set in his match against Ugo Humbert is not exactly reassuring. I don’t know if it’s due to muscular wear and tear for the Frenchman or poor preparation. Sometimes players forget to put a bit of magnesium in their drink when conditions are conducive to cramps. And when a player has cramps, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the next match will be completely compromised. We’ll see, but facing Zverev requires being at 100% physically.

The other major argument is that the German has a very good record against left-handers, thanks to the quality of his backhand combined with his height, which makes him less bothered by the high bounce in Madrid. The German has repeated in interviews that he really likes the conditions in Madrid, having already won the tournament twice, which is understandable. He gets a few more free points on his serve, and the ball bounces higher than elsewhere. It’s a bit faster and that allows him to play his natural game, that of a player who doesn’t make unforced errors and can put a bit more weight into the ball.

Adding up all these arguments, you do indeed get the feeling that it could be difficult for the Frenchman.

Nevertheless, once he has physically recovered from his match against Ugo, we shouldn’t forget that the Frenchman was playing at a very high level and that, at his best, he’s capable of competing with this type of opponent, at least bothering them.

The Manolo Santana center court also helps him, since he likes to stand well back, especially on return, to turn the situation around and, when he can, attack with a powerful forehand. These are strengths that are very useful against the German’s game.

The main question I’m asking myself is how long he’ll be able to maintain that. Another thing is that the Frenchman sometimes struggles at the ends of sets or in tense moments, and we know that the German, even when he’s not playing well, knows how to push his opponents into those situations and often come through thanks to his experience. Let’s now go and look at the odds and see if there’s something to do here.