The odds for a retirement please?

MTO for Dimitrov in R1 and recurring physical issues, same for Mensik who was still holding his foot...

Good win for Dimitrov in a match-up that ended up being pretty comfortable for him, since he had the luxury of being able to dictate play all the time and come forward to finish at the net. It’s true that he’s more in danger when opponents can attack him and stop him from dictating. On the other hand, he’s taking another MTO off court and when you know his injury history, you have to be careful. I’m still not convinced by his level personally; I think that in Mallorca, as soon as there was a real opponent, we saw his current ceiling. I’ll need more than a win against Sweeny to believe in him.

Mensik will be the test to see how much Dimitrov can still hold up. The Czech didn’t take an MTO but still looked pretty worn out/affected in his foot at the end of his match against Samuel. I’m not too worried because he’s been playing with this injury for a long time and a long first round never really does him in; we have the perfect example at Roland. I mostly see it as a mental win against an in-form home player who gave him big problems. He was reassuring in the press conference afterwards and will be ready for this R2!

In terms of match-up, I’m fairly convinced by the Czech’s quality of serve and his ability to hang in/counter when needed. The only scenario that bothers me is the one where Dimitrov starts to focus exclusively on Mensik’s forehand with his slice and lets him dictate play. It’s possible, but not exactly easy physically for him either. Let’s say it’s simpler for Mensik to develop his game and do damage. He starts with a good advantage.