Strike while the iron is hot?

Is Griekspoor finally finding some form?

Well, we did have a feeling about him in Washington in the first round against Tabilo, which was perhaps a bit too soon (although that loss does not look as bad in hindsight, with how good Tabilo was). Looking back at Griekspoor's clay/grass season, man, it was quite a disaster. He won two matches and lost 10! Not only that, he did not cover the handicap in a single one of his losses. Before that, we had a good run to the finals in Dubai, and at least a few indoor hardcourt wins in Rotterdam and Montpellier. We know that Tallon is a streaky player, especially since he tends to get quite moody and annoyed when things are not going well, which does not really help in breaking losing streaks. Now, there is some momentum building with a solid first-round match against Sonego and a big win against Zverev, an opponent he keeps facing again and again. When his serve and forehand are firing, he is a dangerous opponent for anyone!

Arnaldi has finally been able to have some good results this year, which was important; he had been struggling for about two years (also dealing with injuries). In the clay swing, he spent a lot of energy in long and exhausting matches, mainly in Rome and Roland Garros! Grass season was almost like a break for him; it's just a surface where he is not comfortable at all. Maybe he can go golfing with Ruud next year instead? Now, we have to see if he can maintain a good level for the North American hardcourt swing. We were not able to tell much in the first-round retirement against Musetti in Washington. He was able to beat Marozsan in the first round here in Montreal, in what has been a comfortable matchup for him. It was not a fireworks match by any means, so for me, Arnaldi still has to prove himself a bit more here. He did actually beat Griekspoor in the first round of Roland Garros, but Tallon was in awful form, and I think he was also having some issues with his foot. Arnaldi is not bad at all on hardcourt, but the conditions here in Montreal should be more suited to the Dutchman!