Valle (warm)

After a string of disappointing matches, the Paraguayan took advantage of a Jacquet who was clearly out of sorts to finally advance to the next round on hard courts. However, it was also thanks to him that Jacquet was thrown off his game. Vallejo played every point like it was match point and was very aggressive. And in the hot and humid conditions of Cincinnati, it's best to be wary of a player who is physically fit and hasn't played many matches recently.

However, we have a different challenge on the other side this time. Valentin is a formidable server, and that could really disrupt Vallejo's rhythm. The Monegasque player just got thrashed like a beginner by Navone in Montreal, a sign to me that he's not yet physically sharp enough (returning from injury).

So we have a hard-court game and a very favorable matchup for Vallejo, and unwavering stamina and motivation for Vallejo. But the Paraguayan isn't as much like Navone, always returning everything with often looping shots. He tries to play a hard-court game aggressively, and he's like that even on clay. That changes things quite a bit for me, because in that style of play, Val has an advantage...