The top 5 is stepping into the ring!

Jodar is rated as a top 5 and between us, is it really deserved?

I kind of want to say no but I think yes, I’m impressed by the quality of his matches on clay and there’s no denying it, he’s a beast everywhere. Obviously the Grand Slam format is a minefield for young players and that’s mainly where he’s going to struggle to live up to his status for now, because his body is still developing and prone to cramps, but in terms of pure tennis it’s just huge. To the point that he can make up for it by playing magnificent matches where he steamrolls his opponents without a physical battle even being established. After all, Kovacevic isn’t THE guy who’s going to grind him down for 3 hours and beat him physically, quite the opposite.

The American will actually be the less fresh of the two after his great week in Hamburg! He’s just pulled off another unexpected breakthrough even though he was a lucky loser, he can play at a high level in certain tournaments. He beat FAA and Carabelli, he’s a guy full of confidence who’s going to arrive at this Roland-Garros and even if this surface isn’t his favorite, he can hold his own and play at a good level. I’m a bit scared about the match-up though: with his one-handed backhand and Jodar’s huge aggressiveness, he risks taking a beating as soon as his first serve doesn’t go in (and even when it does). All week Kovacevic was underrated in Hamburg and we have to be careful not to make the same mistake at Roland, but he’s coming in without any matches in Paris, which changes things, and the draw is disastrous...

If ever Kovacevic is flying and manages to bother Jodar then it’s insane value, but for me he’s quickly going to fall behind and have no solutions, it all depends on Jodar...