Same difference

Two hard-court players who aren’t that bad on clay in their own style.

A great opportunity for each of the two players to reach the second round of a Masters 1000 on clay. We’ve got a Giron who fights hard, wins a few matches, but often loses while putting up a great battle. And a Cilic who, yes, is coming off a case of food poisoning in Madrid, but above all has missed very few matches this season. The Croatian is the one with the better average level in Rome and on clay in general. If both players are roughly at the same level from the baseline, Cilic has his serve and his clutch side, whereas Giron has better movement. But in today’s conditions, meaning it’s not a 33-degree day with dry clay, I give a slight edge to the Croatian...