The pressure is starting to build...

Is Bublik starting to feel the pressure of having to defend all his points from an excellent 2025?

Well, here we are once again with the Bublik we used to know, right? Not being able to defend many of his altitude clay "double" points, QF points in RG, and losing the first run in Halle, where he was the champion. Especially his last match against Bellucci in Halle is a bit worrying. Missing 3 set points in the first set tiebreak and then fading away in set 2 after seemingly having issues with his right shoulder! He pulled out of Mallorca after that. I will mention the positives for Bublik... he has a chance to get some points here in Wimbledon, since he went out in the first round against Munar last year ;) Kokkinakis has been starting to get more and more matches under his belt after a very long break with numerous injuries. Based on his recent interviews, he seems to be in a good place mentally, enjoying being able to play tennis and making the best of it. His problem right now has been to play several matches consecutively, not yet able to handle it without injury/physical concerns. Anyway, it's the first round now!

I don't think this is an easy opening draw for Bublik, especially in his current "state". It would be way easier with a player who is "weaker", not someone who serves and hits as hard as Kokkinakis. We've recently seen that Bublik struggles against aggressive players like this; just look at the matches against Struff. As for Kokkinakis, I prefer him in this type of match, more so than against a good defensive player who could extend rallies more...