Feels like a five-setter in the air...

This kind of match can go in all directions. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends with a big, decisive tie-break in the fifth set.

Faria has once again qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam, and it’s starting to become a habit for him. He’s a player who gets through qualifying every time and really has no business still being at that level. He’s complete, very strong, and has a good mentality.

I still found him a bit tense in the last qualifying match, but that’s usual for him. In general, he’s tense at this stage of the competition, then he rolls in the first round with a much sharper game. You can see that he beats Grenier, Pavlovich and Sakamoto, three players with somewhat similar profiles in their own way. And those are exactly the types of players Faria loves to face. He’s going to come up against a Sakamoto who is less dependent on his serve quality, even though he’s a good server. And above all, he’s a player with good shot selection who knows how to make you play. That’s less ideal for Faria. And I find that the Portuguese is in any case a bit less good on grass.

Sakamoto has broken into the top 100 and will do everything he can to stay there as long as possible. The Japanese player is coming off some very good matches against very strong opponents and arrives full of confidence. Him, in particular, I find impressive on grass, with a game that adapts perfectly. As I said, he’s a good server, but he doesn’t rely only on that. He knows how to weather storms and counter, but he also attacks very well. He seems to me to be the more complete player on this surface, but it’s shaping up to be a high-level match.

It’s a great opportunity for both players in this first round. I think they’re both in good form right now, so this match should last. I can see momentum shifts, but I admit that’s not my main bet here.