Ugo’s number one enemy won’t necessarily be his opponent.

This week, conditions are pretty tough in Washington, with real heat and above all a lot of humidity. It’s a combination that, in the past, has caused big problems for Humbert, who mostly struggles physically in his matches. In his defense, I feel like he’s put on some muscle this year and I’ve seen him win several matches where, in my opinion, last year he would have blown up. I don’t think he’s completely over his main issue, but it should hold up a bit better.

That’s why I’m saying his main enemy won’t be his opponent, given that in terms of pure tennis, he’s supposed to be well above a player like Martin. I saw the American in his second qualifying round, and I didn’t find him impressive — just more solid and better suited to the surface than his opponent. He’s not an all-guns-blazing type of player, strictly speaking. He’s more about staying solid no matter what, and he’s also in good form confidence-wise. I think that can be a problem for quite a few players in a first round, but I’m not convinced that’s what really bothers Humbert.

The Frenchman loves to have the game in his hands, and that will be the case tomorrow. In my opinion, he’s going to create huge gaps with the quality of his serve and also hurt a lot on return at the slightest opportunity. I don’t see any real trap here as such; it’ll be more of a physical issue if the match starts to drag on and he gets sucked into a false rhythm. In that case, yes, it would become dangerous, and in a third set I think Martin would be a good betting opportunity.