Open bar !

Respectively the best draw for both, it's a great opportunity to seize

Quite the homecoming for Stricker, the Swiss is constantly dragged down by his multiple injuries and I’d even heard last year that he was considering retirement. I don’t know if that was serious, but in any case after his first round you can see he still has what it takes to perform at the highest level. He rolled over Munar, imposing that very aggressive playing style we know from him. He also reassured people physically, saying it had been a long time since he’d felt like this. I don’t know about you, but I’m buying! Whether it’s with his lefty serve or his aggression, his game is dangerous at altitude for his opponents.

Now it’s Shevchenko’s turn to try and withstand the lightning that’s about to strike in front of him. The Kazakh took care of a Muller who is still too short physically to make it to the second round, and I have to say from his side the match was pretty solid. Even the first set he lost was good, he just lacked a bit of ruthlessness. For now, nothing to get too hyped about, but I’ll say it again: at altitude he can do damage too. I’ll also add that in general, facing a local player in a good atmosphere really fires him up.

Quite a pronounced clash of styles: Shevy likes to put a lot of balls in play and attack in a different way than Stricker. It’s less direct, but he can find his rhythm. Thirteen aces in the first round, notably, except his serve is unstable and he usually sits around 55% first serves in. Exposing yourself that much against a player as aggressive as Stricker is risky… However, he offers more guarantees physically over the long haul if the match drags on. The conditions will also be cooler tomorrow, so slower...