Musetti sufficiently recovered?

I’m asking this question because for me it’s the key to the match.

I was courtside when the two men met in Monte Carlo last year. The Italian was also coming from behind, I don’t remember exactly why. But he had dropped the first set in each of his matches in Monte Carlo on his way to the final. And against the Czech on Court des Princes, he also took a beating at the start of the match. The match-up gradually swung in favor of the Italian, with the Czech getting more and more frustrated as he became less and less effective in his attacking phases. He was basically up against a wall and completely lost his clarity. He no longer knew whether he should come to the net, stay at the back, hit harder, mix it up. The Italian managed to throw him off his game.

What’s changed here in Madrid? Of course, the conditions, which are faster and will allow the Czech to showcase his game better than in Monte Carlo, that’s for sure.

There’s a second element that’s very important to me: the Czech’s mental management. I think that right now, he’s not the under-pressure player we sometimes know him to be and that he was during their last encounter in Monte Carlo. I think we can trust him to stick to his game plan.

And something else, I feel he has improved in his approaches to the net, in the volleys he executes, and maybe even in his positioning.

Now, things are also shifting for the Italian in Madrid. He’s not as defensive as in Monte Carlo. And I couldn’t say exactly why, but he likes the conditions here.

Another thing I like about the Italian is that he’s searching for the right feelings to get as close as possible to peak form for Roland-Garros. We shouldn’t forget that he’s only been around the top 5 for a short time and that clay is his best surface. There won’t be Alcaraz at Roland-Garros, Djokovic is aging, and as the second, third, fourth or fifth man in line, people are thinking of the Italian. He has to find a way now to string together wins and get as much match time as possible so he’s ready for the best-of-five format. I don’t know how much this motivation will make him play well, but it’s something I take into consideration.