HH

1-1, 11 games per set on average. But it's their first match on clay...

And first Grand Slam match too! And that’s no small detail, because best-of-five format + high heat doesn’t necessarily suit him. On the other hand, there’s a real rise in level from the Frenchman this clay season. His convincing win over Kopriva in Rome wasn’t a fluke in the end. The guy even followed it up in Hamburg, which is a slow clay. But actually, he prefers Father Ugo. I remember the debates about his movement; historically, he struggled. He doesn’t use much topspin, isn’t a fan of loopy trajectories… So he’ll keep playing his territorial-conquest style of game, only better. And that’s despite his disappointments at Roland, due in part in my opinion to how lively the surface is (I like him better in Monte Carlo, Munich, Hamburg…).

On the other side, Quentin is happy to be in the second round. You could feel that this first-round win was important for him. He’s in a phase of trying to get back to his best level, and I think that can make him dangerous. A humble player, already happy with his tournament — we know how that story goes ;). If his tennis is a bit less explosive than Ugo’s, he can lean on two strengths: his net game and his baseline game. If Ugo does in fact dominate the court, it’ll be in his best interest to stay back and make him “work” thanks to, in my opinion, a better feel for clay-court tennis.

Not easy...