The local surprise?

Neumayer knows how to raise his game when he plays at home and tends to overperform a bit compared to his usual level. He’ll have to do that tomorrow, otherwise it won’t work.

That's kind of what we say to ourselves when we think directly of Neumayer. I especially have in mind a few nice Davis Cup wins, but we have to admit that he never manages to back them up afterwards. He’s still relatively young and could step up at any moment, but the trend doesn’t really point that way. He’s a player I find fairly classic in the way he plays and in his profile. He doesn’t have a real big weapon, he’s solid on both sides, he serves properly. He has to work hard in his matches and tries to make a mark as best he can on clay. And even if you might think he can raise his level at home, you have to admit that every year, he doesn’t do much in this tournament.

He’s on track to have the best season of his career, with already a bunch of wins on the Challenger tour. He could be a surprise if he finds his tennis, even if he hasn’t pulled off anything big recently. It’s a bit hard to believe in it, I rate him as a dangerous outsider in theory, but I’m still not really convinced that will be the case tomorrow though..

Hanfmann has a big history in this tournament and more broadly on clay at altitude. He knows exactly how to play on it and loves these conditions. They fit his style of play very well and that’s why he’s such a threat on it.

He beat Neumayer right here last year 7–5, 6–2 in a relatively controlled match, where he still took a bit of time to get going in the first set, but after that he rolled. He’s a player who can rely on the quality of his serve, and I don’t think Neumayer is a real danger for him if Hanfmann is properly focused, and that’s likely to be the case tomorrow. His recent tournament in Gstaad wasn’t bad. He got a solid first-round win before losing to Vacherot for lack of realism, but the level was still quite good. I don’t have much negative to say about him. This isn’t the kind of tournament where you really feel like laying him, but it’s still a first round against a local player.