The Austrian surprise?

Ofner has often been on fire at Roland over the last few years, he seems to really like the conditions and Darderi has been playing a lot in a row...

Ofner’s comeback has materialized with a few appearances on the ATP Tour, but he hasn’t pulled off any big results since his return to the main circuit. A few wins here and there but nothing crazy, and he loses to mid-level players most of the time. He even just went out in qualifying in Geneva, even though historically altitude is what he likes best; I’m not seeing the best version of the Austrian at all.

Quite the opposite of Darderi, who’s come back really strong after a rough patch. The guy found his tennis in Rome and rode that wave to have a good tournament in Hamburg when everyone expected him to be completely burnt out. In the end, not at all: he was fresh and produced some good matches, and even his loss against ADM wasn’t bad—despite the one-sided score, he had his chances. With a few days of rest and a match scheduled Monday or Tuesday at Roland, I’m almost sure we’ll see a Darderi ready to last a long time in this first round. He was targeting Rome and Roland; in my opinion, this is not the time to lay him.

Powerful match‑up: Ofner likes to hit big in rallies and rely on his serve quality. Darderi is just as powerful but less dependent on that to win; he knows how to hold his own from the baseline. In this format and in conditions like those at Roland, I’d say it suits both of them, but I see a big gap in their level recently.