A danger named Machac

The Czech is capable of anything, but here it still seems a bit too much for him given who he’s up against, doesn’t it?

Machac says that at his best level, he’s capable of beating a lot of good players, including Zverev. And I do think that, in smaller tournaments with best‑of‑three format, he has enough tennis and physical quality to pull off big upsets. But I don’t feel like Roland‑Garros, with the longer format and on clay, is where it’s most likely for him to pull off that kind of feat.

I’m not convinced he’s the right opponent for him either, given Zverev’s serve quality and how invested he is at Roland‑Garros.

He just played a solid first round against Bonzi. There was a tiny opening, but in a best‑of‑five match and against a plucky home player, it’s not a big deal. In the end, it’s a straight‑sets win. The level of opposition now gets a lot tougher. As I said, I think Machac is capable of bothering him, but this might not be the right place nor the right conditions for that.

Machac still has little lapses in his matches and drops in concentration that, I think, won’t go unpunished against a level like this. I’m not very optimistic for him, I think he’ll drop some sets quite heavily, maybe a 6–2 here or there, but I also believe that at the slightest dip from Z, Machac is more than capable of taking a set. It’s a bit hard to find an angle on him because it depends on several factors.