And now?

Daniel Merida Aguilar has become quite a phenomenon in Montreal. We’d already seen him win Umag, but everyone was saying, “Yeah, ok, on clay in the heat, why not,” without realizing that it’s on hard courts that he’s at his best! He kind of wasted it a bit at the end against Tien, but how can you really blame him?

In terms of level of play, we’ve seen him look very good against aggressors: Humbert, Griekspoor, Michelsen... and less so against grinders: Draxl and Tien. So against Cilic, even on a fast Cincinnati court, it should work out, right? It should, yeah… but he’s quietly playing a lot in a row, the kid, and in terms of stamina, he’s not Jodar yet! After his win in Umag, he lost in three sets in Estoril because he was a bit burnt out. This time I don’t feel like he’s particularly gassed. But the travel, the changing conditions, the humidity… And with that devil Cilic, you don’t get to make mistakes!

So I’d like to know what you think about it… and I’ll also wait for the schedule before making a decision.