The man in shape

Prizmic once again super low, but nothing illogical.

Prizmic was already ranked low before this tournament, but after beating Djokovic and playing matches this solid, he confirms what we saw in Madrid: a player in top form who is almost impossible to beat right now. It’s a strong word, but it’s almost true given how good he is.

He completely annihilated Humbert and his power by playing deep, hanging in rallies, and striking at exactly the right moments. You can feel all the confidence he’s built up over the past few weeks, especially with a forehand that’s working like a dream. And that makes him a player nobody wants to face.

We’ve got a Khachanov who’s not at all in the same dynamic; quite the opposite, the Russian is a bit lost this year and almost in a confidence crisis. You can totally feel it in his matches this week in Rome, but he’s fighting hard and has just pulled off two hard-fought wins that will do him good. The first match was against Shevchenko where he was super clinical, but it wasn’t great. And in the second match, he was completely underwater against VDZ for a good set and a half before turning things around. It’s not an outstanding Khachanov, but he’s hard to beat, as always.

This heavy clay doesn’t really suit him. I feel like he’s struggling to make a difference from the baseline, and going into a match against a defender-counterpuncher like Prizmic, that doesn’t bode well.

If I have to give a quick summary of the situation, we’ve got a particularly in-form Prizmic who’s more solid than Khachanov at the moment, except in the case he just doesn’t show up. I don’t see why you’d want to bet against him, except for the odds obviously.