Big danger for Shelton!

Seeds are dropping like flies in Montreal, and Shelton is, on paper, the favorite now if I’m not mistaken

A special tournament that’s once again living up to its reputation, with lots of favorites losing and not really seeming motivated to perform. This might be where Shelton’s main strength could make the difference: his mindset and attitude. Even though he’s a player known for shining at huge tournaments, especially the Grand Slams, he stays a competitor all year long; he fires himself up like crazy, even at ATP 250s.

He won Toronto last year and is still the official defending champion, even if it’s not the same tournament. He’s in points-defense mode and also has to realize there’s a new big opportunity here, given how open the draw is now and the fact that he’s the favorite. Enough to motivate him and push him to play his best tennis with a flawless mindset. He started his tournament well by beating Brooksby despite a break deficit in the second set, but the American’s profile wasn’t really supposed to cause him big problems. I’m mainly waiting to see him against different playing styles, including Bergs’s.

The Belgian came back from vacation in Washington and he really needed it. That’s his usual way of operating. He enters big tournaments and plays a lot in a short span, then relaxes as soon as possible because he needs it, mentally above all. He lost honorably to Fritz last week, the eventual title winner, but he says he trained very well throughout the week. And when I see his first-round win over Baez, I think yes, he’s definitely in good shape. He lost the first set in a scrappy match on both sides where he really needed to get himself going mentally, but once he was in it, he dominated Baez. We know his ability to perform well in big tournaments and in important matches. It’s true that he’s missed a few big ones in the past, but most of the time we know we can count on him to deliver strong performances.

Shelton has a big match ahead of him because, for me, Bergs has the weapons to cause him serious problems. The Belgian has a good-quality serve, except when his first-serve percentage hovers around 50% and he hits quite a few double faults. That will obviously be the key thing to watch, but if he doesn’t make too many errors, then in the rallies he really has something to say. He knows how to play on the counter or step in and attack with a lot more power. He’s also someone who, in my opinion, returns pretty well and knows how to hang in there. He’s a complete player, and we’ve already seen him produce big performances when he was at full physical and mental capacity, which will be the case tomorrow. As I said, there’s a serious danger for Shelton: be careful not to make him too big a favorite.