Final day

Unusual final, with two players we didn't necessarily expect to be title contenders.

An extremely quiet week for Merida Aguilar, who simply didn’t drop a set and won all his matches with ease. He only went beyond 6–4 once, and that was against Echeverry. Apart from that, the scorelines were pretty one-sided, which really reflects the form he’s in. He’s a player with huge potential, solid in every department, a big temperament, and when his game clicks, it’s super effective. As far as the level of play goes, for me there’s really no doubt. He’s more talented and promising than Dzumhur, but he’ll also have to handle the pressure if he wants to go and get his first ATP title. That’s not easy for a young player.

Dzumhur reached the final in a very different style that suits him perfectly, namely grinding and winning over the long haul. Despite a nearly four-hour match in the quarterfinals, he backed it up and won his semifinal after coming back from a set down. Physically, he’s much more worn than Merida, but I don’t think that’s a real factor, given that his profile and build are quite well suited to recovery. I didn’t find him that tired in the semifinal, so that won’t be an argument for me. He, on the other hand, already has three ATP titles on tour, but none recently. His experience of these occasions goes back a bit, and there’s no doubt that if he were to take the lead, he too would feel a certain tension when trying to close out the match. In the end, that advantage might not really be one anymore.

First meeting between the two. There will surely be a feeling-out round. As I said, I think Merida is playing better. However, Dzumhur knows how to shine over the long run and manages to break his opponents down with his baseline resilience. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Merida take the first set and then struggle to finish the job.