A damp squib?

Altmaier surprised everyone with a serious level on grass over the last few weeks, but now he’ll have to back it up.

Everyone is obviously talking about his collaboration with Dustin Brown, which seems to be paying off, and we have to admit that the German’s contribution is already having a huge impact. You can feel Altmaier is much sharper on this surface and ready to pull off something big. He was good in Stuttgart, he was good in Halle, and he was pretty solid in Eastbourne as well. Now, let’s be clear, Altmaier hasn’t become a grass-court expert in just a few days. And I still think his game isn’t completely suited to the surface, but he’s putting in the work and can lean on some good recent wins. He’s also a player I see as a Grand Slam player, because that format suits him perfectly. He’s a big-tournament, big-match kind of guy. He loves it, he’s often highly motivated and raises his level accordingly. Logically, given his momentum and what’s at stake, we should once again see an excellent Altmaier in this tournament.

What about Molcan on grass? His game isn’t made for this surface either. He’s a defender who counterpunches brilliantly. He’s got a very loopy forehand with a lot of height on it, and his serve isn’t particularly strong. I don’t really believe in his abilities on this surface, even if some people will point to his good match against Marozan last week, where he had match points. Except to me, that doesn’t mean much. The conditions were nothing like what we’ll have this week, and the grass in Mallorca is unique. It suited him better, especially in terms of bounce and pace of play. I’m a bit worried he won’t have many solutions on this grass at Wimbledon. And on top of that, Altmaier on the other side is playing very well.