Small frame and great warmth

A potentially enjoyable match with two players who shine from the baseline and not for the quality of their serve, a bright spot in this grass-court period

CDzumhur comes out of qualies by beating Svajda 6/3 6/3. That score catches my attention on grass, especially for Dzumhur who is really not in form and not particularly fond of the surface. Svajda was sick, he could have been brought back in as a lucky loser today but withdrew, so I’m not sure this is really a big, meaningful win in the end. Before this match he beat Kukushkin. The previous tournaments were pretty disappointing anyway. It’s only the second time this year he’s won two matches in a row… I’m going to need a lot more from him before I can trust him; he’s annoying to play but much less so this season than before.

Kopriva offers a bit more reassurance about his level this season. Despite his lack of experience on grass, he clutched a set against Zverev in Halle and served really well; he’s a player who can spring a surprise pretty much anywhere when he finds his game. He doesn’t have a ton of rhythm at the moment but I find him so much more dangerous and mentally stable than Dzumhur. I also like the match-up: attacking intelligently against a good defender is generally not a real problem for him; he mainly struggles against big servers and aggressive players.

A match that looks wide open with some good twists and turns to expect, but...