The defending Champion is here!

Is he possibly a bit vulnerable at this moment?

I would say so, and I think Darderi would as well. After a decent end to the clay season, there was a month between his matches; he was not really that fit after having surgery as well. It's worth keeping in mind that those matches were on grass as well, not really his best surface. However, also not as physical as clay. Therefore, it seems like it was a wise decision to play three Bundesliga matches, which should have helped him prepare a bit, at least. Altmaier showed some good things during the grass season, with Dustin Brown in his box! I actually didn't even mind his loss to Molcan in Wimbledon; he did not play badly by any means. I found him really engaged in his match against Gaston, playing with a lot of intensity and desire, chasing down a lot of balls without a second thought. In the end, we should be a bit careful not to value his win too much, since Hugo looked rather spent, just coming from a Challenger final with a few MTOs.

We know that Darderi really thrives in these conditions; he gets to dictate a lot with his forehand, and truthfully, he is just really gritty. Still, it's not easy for him to come into this first round against an inspired opponent, especially not since he is defending the title here. We have seen over and over that this tends to lead to some shaky starts for almost every player. While I do think Darderi has a good chance of eventually ending up as the winner in this match, I don't see a straightforward match for him...