Watch out, Tiafoe.

Faria is less dangerous and less well-known than Hurkacz, but the Portuguese player is stubborn and hard to beat; another battle ahead for Big Foe!

Faria is flying a bit under the radar at the start of this tournament, but he took out Shapovalov and Struff in 3 sets without burning too much energy. And let me remind you he came through the qualifiers, having notably beaten Dimitrov. He’s a constantly improving player and I talk him up every chance I get. He’s complete, solid, and hard to beat. He’s a real clay-court player who, I think, will also be a threat on hard courts with time. For now, he’s ready and confident before going up against Tiafoe.

Big Foe has just won an epic match of the kind he’s known for against Hurkacz. The American could have wrapped it up in four sets, but he got broken back at the worst possible moment. Still, he never stopped believing he could win and really pulled himself together in the fifth set. He’s used to big battles and has plenty in the tank. I’m not too worried about him. And I actually think this win is pretty huge given how dangerous Hurkacz was for him.

We all know how much F. Tiafoe struggles against big servers, and on top of that he was scheduled on Court 14, which is horrible when you’re facing guys like the Pole. In the end, Tiafoe F. took a bunch of aces, but he played really well in the rallies! It was very impressive. Let’s not forget that last year he already had a great Roland Garros. He’s a Grand Slam player!

For this first meeting, what can we expect from the match-up? I think Tiafoe will be comfortable in the fight and that he’ll maintain the same level of play as in the first two rounds. He has all the tools to get through it. I feel like Faria’s limit shows against this type of player, just as complete as he is and even a little better in every department. I’m not sure I want to trust the Portuguese either in long battles. I had the feeling he was saving energy against his last two opponents, but maybe I’m wrong.