Big shock in this second round!

This matchup is super interesting between two formidable players when they're playing their best tennis!

This will be a first matchup, we’ll handle it carefully and try to be objective about their respective form. The Belgian Collignon keeps grinding down challengers and will now try to confirm on the main tour; he’s already had a few breakthroughs but his results are less consistent for the moment and I don’t really like his recent form. He’s winning matches but it’s getting harder and harder, and he’s also put in a lot of effort at the start of the year, so we need to keep an eye on him towards the end of the season. His first round was fairly average overall, the altitude is almost a trap for his game and especially his serve with 17 aces for 10 doubles, that’s not really helping his game in that area. He’s still a very solid player and mentally strong, he’s going to be hard to beat.

For Sonego, his very recent form is encouraging, he’s just strung together 2–3 tournaments with good quality of play and finally some confidence to build on. He says the altitude helps him be aggressive and serve well too, and clearly with his game he can do some damage this week. In his case he played a solid, serious first round against a young player you had to be wary of, the Italian is gaining momentum.

Their form curves kind of cross a bit: I see Collignon more in “survival mode” recently, whereas Sonego is starting to make a really good impression again.