From Winner to Loser to...

Borges won Båstad in 2024 and then lost in the first round last year...

Although Nuno has not gone deep in a lot of tournaments this year, it does feel like he is playing rather good tennis, doesn't it? We are well aware of his kryptonite by now... big hitters that can rush and overpower him. I mean, look at the players he has lost to! Jodar, Rublev, Cilic, Felix, Quinn, and (Sinner) ;) He was on fire when he played here in 2024, cruising through it all. As for Kouame, I remember his win against Svajda in Miami and then, of course, the epic run to the third round in the French Open! Since then, he has pulled out of a few clay Challengers due to feeling some pain in his elbow. However, he did play (and lose) in the first round of the Braunschweig Challenger, about a week ago.

While Nuno is in good form, this kind of match can become a bit of a trap for him. We have seen it endless times, getting tangled up in a long battle against a lower-ranked player! In that kind of match, it's not unusual for him to get frustrated on court and then have to dig deep to problem-solve instead. While he lost in the first round to an in-form Misolic last year, at least he does not have points to defend here this year, which should free him up a bit. When Borges is playing on a slower surface in these kinds of matches, he can struggle to win by a big margin, since he lacks major weapons himself. However, I do worry slightly about Kouame's ability to reach his level here, not really having played a lot lately and facing a very experienced opponent straight away...