The dreaded Munar

The Spaniard is a bit of a trap to play and will still have his say in this second round. Blockx should be wary.

For his return, Munar beat Hijikata in a topsy-turvy match where he was trailing on the scoreboard twice in the sets, but finished better than his opponent. Honestly, it was a fairly decent-level match. I found Munar mentally solid in closing out this encounter in a particular context after a long break and with break points to save. The Spaniard seemed fit and motivated, as you would expect in the big tournaments. That means he’s going to be a tough out this week and that he can knock out a seed.

The seed potentially at risk is Blockx, the Belgian, who has to handle his surface transition after his final in Estoril. You could say he’s arriving in good form and full of confidence, but his final also needs to be put into context, because he could have been knocked out in the first round against Jaquet, and then we wouldn’t be having the same conversation. You need to really judge properly where he’s at. I found him quite nervous and tense all week over there, with a bit less stability than usual. In the end, he went for a lot on serve and in his game. Let’s say his final is maybe a bit misleading, and that against an excellent baseliner, very solid and hard to maneuver, that could expose his current weaknesses.

All these little things mean that, for me, Blockx is in danger in this match. It’s really not an easy draw, especially when you have to deal with a surface change. He has handled his emotions well. The Belgian is still more talented and promising than Munar, but I get the feeling that in this kind of tournament, we’re rather going to target players who offer a bit more reliability.