State of play

Let’s start with our Japanese friend Mochizuki, who had a hell of a Wimbledon tournament this year, winning no fewer than six matches, coming through qualifying and then losing valiantly to the world number 1. He’s a player who gained confidence as he kept winning and whose game is well suited to grass. Now, how did that translate to hard courts? How did he follow up? On hard, with two Challengers, there’s not much to say, not much sparkle. He’s far from the level he shows at Wimbledon; you really have to see this player as strong on grass and strong when he’s extremely motivated and when everything is clicking. I remember a tournament in Asia where he beat Fritz. Here, he beat an Australian, Sweeney, in qualifying, which can be a trap as much as an opportunity. I didn’t see the match, so I don’t really know what to make of it. Mochizuki’s previous results on hard are not really promising before a match against a player as strong as Fabian Marozsan. The Hungarian is coming back from a knee injury picked up at Wimbledon, and he had let the match slip away against Davidovich Fokina. Since then, he hasn’t played. We’re talking a bit more than a month without competition, and that’s always a bit tricky for him. His hard-court season hasn’t been dazzling. But his average level is still much higher than Mochizuki’s on hard. Basically, we have the option and the assumption of seeing a Fabian who comes back at a fairly good level. That would give his odds at 1.57 some value. But if that’s not the case, it could be tough. I think that, as Marcos says, with the Japanese player’s serve quality being a bit lacking, Fabian will be able to show some aggressiveness right from the return, which will bother the Japanese player. And if Fabian is in normal form, I think it could really pay off.