What’s going on with you, Martin?

Etcheverry is going through a rather rough patch. But I can’t figure out what’s wrong with him.

Another first-round defeat last week for Etcheverry, who continues his poor run of form, even if he was really unlucky with the draw, running straight into Merida, the eventual tournament winner, afterwards. Maybe that’s what’s not working for Etcheverry right now, because he very often gets tough first-round matches. But he’s a tenacious player who likes big battles and fighting. He’s already had periods with tough draws where he still managed to pull through. Except now, at the moment, it’s just not clicking. The fact is, his game is really labored. He can’t easily make the difference when conditions are slow, like they were in Umag. And he’s also a bit short on confidence. I find him more tense than usual, whereas normally his attitude is always impeccable. In short, it’s a combination of things that means Etcheverry is a bit off his game right now. But it will inevitably come back sooner or later.

I think that this week, the conditions might help him a bit to play better. He’s going to find more effectiveness on his first serve and his forehand again. In tennis, things change quickly, so I don’t want to write him off either. On paper, this first round looks a bit more manageable, since it’s not a big name, but Rodionov is no walk in the park, especially as he’s a local and just played a very solid first round. He’s also a lefty who could pin Etcheverry on the backhand side and stop him from dictating with his forehand. In the end, I’m not sure this is a comfortable first round for Etcheverry. In any case, given his current form and lack of confidence, I don’t see an easy win for him.

Rodionov leads 2–1 in their head-to-head, and even if those matches are starting to date a bit, it’s something to take into account here. The Austrian seems like the perfect outsider to come and pick off an Etcheverry who is still struggling.