A small reprieve.

McCabe saved two match points but he also hurt his knee. The adrenaline got him through, but will he play tomorrow? I don’t know.

Even he doesn’t really know; he says his knee was shaking and that he was able to keep going thanks to the adrenaline. He was going to check in with the physio, hoping everything will be fine for tomorrow. I admit that in the moment, I really thought he was going to stop because he looked like he was in a lot of pain. But with adrenaline, it can work wonders. I’m going to be very cautious about his participation and his movement tomorrow, because once it’s cooled down, it’s a whole different story. This is a tough analysis to make given that it’ll be the main thing to watch tomorrow. I’ll still say that he played a great match to beat Bergs and that, as he mentioned, he’s already been playing on grass for three weeks. And it’s a surface that suits his tennis really well. He serves well for his height and moves the way he should. He’s a really annoying player to face on this surface. The kind of player who can make a deep run in this type of tournament and then fade away a bit later in the season.

On Majchrzak’s side, we have a bit more certainty regarding his average level. It’s no surprise to see him perform the way he is. Last year, he had already played some great matches on grass, especially at Wimbledon. He’s a clever, intelligent player who can really manage his matches the right way. He got a great revenge win over Virtanen after another deciding tiebreak. I think this is kind of the worst type of opponent he could face, since he doesn’t return very well and needs time to set up his game. McCabe, as I said, serves well and knows how to be aggressive, but it’s a bit less extreme than Virtanen. That’s why I find the match-up pretty decent for Majchrzak. And of course, there’s also the fact that physically, McCabe will come in with some doubts, but even without that, I was already leaning toward the Pole.