The comeback specialists!

Fonseca and Ruud both came back from a two-sets-to-love deficit in their last round. They put in a lot, and normally it will be the fresher of the two who comes out on top.

Ruud felt largely dominated by Paul in the first two sets, and that’s completely true. The American, taking away his time, kept coming to the net and was simply playing better than him. But Ruud managed to weather the storm and slowly but surely took control as the match went on. It’s another tough win for the Norwegian, who also decided not to practice on Saturday in order to recover as much as possible after an exhausting match.

I don’t know about you, but I find that even in terms of his level of play, he’s been a bit disappointing at the start of this tournament. It’s not bad, but I was still expecting a bit more from him, especially here where he’s so often managed to raise his level. He’s come back from very far behind in his last two matches, so maybe he’ll arrive with a new sense of freedom, and maybe this will be like a second tournament starting for him.

On Fonseca’s side, the Brazilian has finally produced his reference match and, for the moment, maybe the biggest win of his career. It’s fairly logical to see him deliver this kind of performance, but it’s true that for the past few months he’s been going through a bit of a doubtful period.

This win against Djokovic will give him a lot of confidence, and it’s also two comebacks in a row that he’s pulled off. The Brazilian is capable of playing exceptional tennis and this next match will be scheduled as a best-of-five. He loves that. He says it’s easier for him to generate power and be the boss on court in a best-of-five. It’s true that against Djokovic, at the start of the match, he got a real lesson and spent his time running and absorbing the play. Once things slowed down a bit and he could neutralize the serve and take back control, he played very well.

In terms of the match-up, a lot will be decided on the first few shots of the rally. Ruud likes to run around his forehand and dictate the exchanges, just like Fonseca, who will want to hit very hard and also come forward to the net. I think the night session is still more favorable for Fonseca and, as I said, I find Ruud only moderately convincing, on top of clearly being quite tired.