Good but not great

For me here, we’ve got two players capable of playing at a very high level, but who aren’t playing at that level right now.

Blockx had to battle a bit against a somewhat tired Burruchaga who made quite a few errors, and Darderi once again got through without playing his best tennis. It’s laborious, but he’s got a heart of steel.

I’m leaning a bit more towards the Italian right away because I find him more resilient, and I was even less satisfied with the Belgian’s performance. To go as far as putting him at 1.6? Yes, that does seem a bit low, I’ll give you that. It looks like another grinding win. That said, he managed to find a good level as the match went on against a solid Faria, so there’s a chance he can ride that form. In any case, I think he can bounce back properly compared to Blockx, who I feel has been a bit stuck since coming back from injury.