Old-school!

Darderi remembers a match when they were 10 years old, where Comesana handed him a 6-0, 6-1. It’s still incredible to think that they’re going to face each other again at a Grand Slam at the highest level.

Some slightly weird statements from Darderi after his win against Ofner. He says he was tense in the first set, but also that he overheated and that he can’t really say too much about it. He reassures everyone by saying he feels good physically, but I think he’s bluffing a bit. It’s been a while now that he’s looked pretty close to the edge in his matches, and I was really scared in his first set against Ofner that he’d blow up during the match.

He smashed a racket in the first set and kept getting angry at his box. We know he has a very nervy attitude, even when things are going well, but in this kind of format, it always worries me a bit more, knowing that the matches are really long and there are almost always momentum shifts.

Facing him, we have Comesana, a player I’ve been laying pretty heavily since the start of the season, and I’m right most of the time, since the Argentine’s level has dropped.

He might have just played the match of his season against Queen in the first round. He’s found his serve quality again, his solidity from the baseline, and his always very sharp touch game. He’s a player capable of playing great matches, but he’s produced far too few of them lately. That’s why it’s a bit hard to trust him. I think the Grand Slam format allows him to have his usual little dips and still make up for them over the long run.

If we get a good Comesana, I think he has the weapons and solidity to offer a real battle to Darderi, and I’m not sure the Italian will get through it easily.