Nick is back

This guy really is incredible...

He's back, and he's coming in strong. Beating Moutet is no small feat. Personally, I wouldn’t just highlight his serve/forehand. I was blown away by two things above all: 1. his reading of the game. He’s on pretty much all of crafty Moutet’s shots and, right from the return, matches him in guile at the very least. He has a vision of tennis, it’s honestly crazy. 2. His ability to go for it. Corentin puts pressure on him in the last game of the match. He tightens up his game and wins. Not a hint of hesitation.

Today, he’s playing Shimabukuro. The Japanese player is on fire, and he’s got a formidable weapon to use against Nick: his return quality. I was floored against Halys. Maybe Halys was overconfident, I don’t know, but Shimabukuro totally shut Quentin down. Super mobile, very clean. His weakness is that he doesn’t protect his own service games as well.

So I’m expecting a tight match where I’m not even sure Nick is the favorite...