Another great battle coming up again?

They played each other in Halle this year, and Bergs came close to pulling off a big upset. Is he still capable of doing it in different conditions and on Fritz's home turf?

I’ll start with Zizou Bergs, who’s coming off a tough disappointment against Ferry at Wimbledon, where he had a bunch of chances to close out the match. The Belgian hasn’t played since and admitted he’d been playing a lot recently. We know him: he needs to take short breaks during the season to stay mentally fresh and then be able to go on a run afterwards. I think these few weeks off have done him a world of good and that he’s going to come back hotter than ever, given how well he was playing in the last few weeks. I also think that playing against Fritz and against the crowd could fire him up and help him be absolutely monstrous. In any case, if I were Fritz, I’d take him seriously, given that he already caused him big problems just a few weeks ago.

On top of having to watch out for Bergs, the American especially needs to reassure himself, because he again felt something in his knee during Wimbledon. It’s an injury that’s been dragging on and he can’t really get over it. Hard courts are tough on the body. If he really still has an issue there, it’s going to show. This is the time of year when he consistently plays well and loves the conditions. Maybe he’ll push through now before taking a break after the US Open to heal.

In any case, Fritz at 1.30, I find that extremely dangerous. There’s the physical risk, but there’s also the fact that he’s just starting his tournament and facing a particularly threatening player in the underdog role who has nothing to lose.