An unexpected comeback

Arnaldi has just won the Cagliari Challenger to everyone's surprise

It's a surprise because the Italian still has physical issues and he's really struggling to play well, he's even been terrible since his return, without wanting to be mean. Except his tennis clicked at the right time and he beat a bunch of good players in this challenger, which will definitely help him mark his comeback! The other positive point is that apparently his foot wasn't hurting anymore in the last few days, maybe everything is finally going his way. I watched a few bits of his matches during the week and he really was very good; last time I’d seen him in Madrid he was completely lost because he couldn’t control his ball, but on a slower clay and balls that fly less, it’s immediately better. Now you just have to keep an eye on how he handles playing back-to-back, but I’d say that’s a good problem to have, and since he’s struggled so much for months he’ll just be extra motivated to extend his winning streak, and we’re in Rome on top of that!

When I say everything’s going well, it’s also true with this draw, which could have been so much worse! Munar is also coming back and the Spaniard still seems waaaay off his top level. One match won against Shevchenko in Barcelona at home and two heavy losses taken, he also pulled out of a challenger last week… He was pretty skeptical about his level during the last tournament too, he said he felt way too far off to have a chance against Ruud. I sense a guy who’s struggling to get his rhythm back and will need a bit of time to return at full strength. I’ll add that on clay, Munar has almost regressed since last year; his best matches are on faster surfaces now since he’s slightly adjusted his game.

3–2 for the Spaniard in the H2H, all tight matches and a close match-up; this time it’s current form that could make the difference.