Without me!

It’s not a meeting I’m absolutely dying to see tomorrow.

I respect and like both players but I’m not really expecting an entertaining match, this should once again revolve around their serves and be a tight story. Struff has just pulled off a nice win against his nemesis Medvedev but what the Russian gave away, it’s just crazy that he lost that match in three sets. The German takes advantage and moves on to the next round where he’ll face a player with a profile that’s different but still somewhat similar…

Hurkacz is an excellent server, one of the best on tour, and he also has that ability to play well on return, plus he moves well for his size, a bit like Medvedev even if the two are still quite different. I like the Pole’s ability to absorb pressure and for me he has a huge advantage on serve; he can stay solid in that area over five sets if needed, whereas Daniil can throw in big double faults and play some awful service games. I’m having a bit of trouble seeing Struff getting breaks easily, we’ll have to stay very realistic ++.

In general play you can say the German will still have his say; whether on his own service games or just when the point is neutral, it’ll be up to him to dictate the pace and come forward to the net. He’s confident and playing loose, exactly the type of profile you want to avoid laying, especially when their price is that high. I also don’t like the idea of betting on Hurkacz when he’s a heavy favorite…