New challenge for Stefanos

The Greek is finding his form again in this tournament, and a dangerous type of opponent awaits him once more.

A big server who hits hard and comes forward to finish at the net is typically what the Greek hates, because his backhand is put under pressure quickly and he has less time to compensate by running around to hit forehands. But Tsitsipas is in form this week and really motivated! He’s just pulled off a nice win against Kym over two days in a tight match he could have lost, he celebrated it well and is playing with a better vibe at the start of this tournament. We’ve got a good version of the Greek right now and he wants to keep it going!

With Rinderknech it’s harder to gauge his level because he’s only had one match and he deserved to lose it; he came back from very far behind to win and even considers himself lucky. The Frenchman is still alive and we know how it goes after a laboured first round: he’ll be dangerous tomorrow, especially since his game suits the conditions perfectly. I have to say I’ve really not been convinced by his level of play for months now and I’m definitely on team ‘lay Rinder’ whenever possible.

The match-up is pretty nice for the Frenchman; if he plays his game he’ll cause problems for Tsitsipas, but the Greek has the edge thanks to the surface, which he handles better, and also because I feel his level is higher right now after a few matches (it’s a small sample, I know, but that’s how I see it). Let’s say I see Tsitsipas winning, but I’ll need a good price to back him because I don’t think Rinderknech is a good opponent for him.