20 years apart...

Phew, that match when you think about it. Time goes by so fast...

Well, on Cilic’s side, nothing has really changed since the start of the season. The guy plays his matches. And apart from the one against Altmaier in Munich, on heavy clay, he doesn’t lose to weaker players. I’d even say he sometimes beats very good players, even on clay.

Last season he looked like a 15/3 club player against Cobolli. The year he made the semis here was a bit exceptional for him because, at the end of his career, you can’t really say the Roland Garros clay suits him. Even less so in 35 degrees heat!

Kouamé’s goal will be clear: make it last, and make him move. Neutralize Cilic’s power. He’s got the legs and the technique to do it. On the other hand, zero Grand Slam experience. But you have to start somewhere, and he learns fast.

Against Humbert, another very aggressive, powerful player with flat trajectories, he wasn’t ready in Monte Carlo. Plus, that match was played in slow conditions. He kept coming back a bit each time because, first, it’s not easy for Ugo, and second, Ugo was easing off a little. Against Cilic, there’ll be no mercy. He’s going to learn a lot from this match.

Betting-wise, I think there’s going to be quite an adjustment period for the Frenchman before he finds his range and gives everything in a second or third set where we start to believe in him?