Huh, that rings a bell...

I did actually analyze their previous meetings in Mallorca and I watched the match in full. What can I take away from it?

I was totally on Team Buse when they met in Mallorca, but I particularly liked the conditions for the Peruvian. And indeed, he did beat Stefanos that day, but the match was anything but easy. I even think he probably deserved to lose the first set before gaining the mental and physical edge in the second. That can make the score look relatively one-sided, but it was in no way an easy win. There was actually a small moment in the first set that I think kind of knocked Stefanos out of the match, even if it happened very early on. For this rematch, the conditions change drastically.

Now we're on clay at altitude, and Buse is just as good in these conditions, maybe even excellent, I’d say. He actually reached the semi-finals of this tournament last year, I remember it very well. He played at an exceptional level, and when you see all the progress he’s made this season on top of gaining experience and maturity, it makes him a serious dark horse contender for the title. Tsitsipas isn’t bad per se on this kind of clay, but I’m not sure it’s his favorite surface either. It’s a bit too fast, and the fact that the bounce is high can work against him on the backhand side, even if it’s going to help him on the forehand side.

The Greek has made more changes to his team and is trying to create a new dynamic. I thought he was pretty solid at Wimbledon, and I think the conditions here can also help him in this particular match against Buse. There’s more space behind the baseline, he can return from further back and is less likely to get rushed as well. In Mallorca, it was very fast grass and even less suited to his game. I also have to say that Buse’s grass season left me a bit unsatisfied, despite some nice wins. But it’s mainly in terms of level of play and maybe intensity throughout those matches that I see a few slightly worrying signs. He’s had time to recover, but what I mean is that he might start to feel the effects after a very physically demanding start to the year.