Winning without excelling

Khachanov remains hard to beat, despite not being at his best yet...

Players with the Big Server / Solid Baseliner combo playstyle share this attribute - a high base floor level and usually a (slightly) lower ceiling than the truly elite. Nakashima is definitely another example of this. It's nice being able to win matches just by staying consistent on serve, then getting some opportunities in return games by staying consistent as well! Billy Harris, a player without big weapons or a high ceiling, will always struggle to reach a good enough level to beat Khachanov in a full match, especially in a best-of-five. Harris had his moments, but in the end, Khachanov can grind him down by being more consistent and doing most things slightly better. I found Hanfmann really strong in his match against GMP, especially his returning - he was getting so many first serves back in play and with good depth - usually with block returns. With GMP winning just 68% of first serve points, he never stood a chance; his baseline level was really poor - kind of expected.

Hanfmann's ability to drop shot and come to the net is definitely useful against Khachanov, as long as he doesn't allow Khachanov to pin him back with a lot of depth. I'm interested to see how he is going to return against Karen... if it was GMP simply being "easy-to-read" on the day, or Hanfmann truly is doing great things on return here. I'm slightly leaning toward the first option (of course, a combination of both is probable), but let's see. If Hanfmann can keep rallies short and utilize S&V and frequent net play, he could make this interesting against a Khachanov who is still finding some form. However, if the rallies start to drag on and become more rhythmic, I like his chances a lot less...