A tournament for Stefanos?

The Greek hasn’t really managed to build on his title. In his defense, he hasn’t exactly had easy draws.

We were already seeing a return of Tsitsipas to the highest level after his clay-court title. But since then, he hasn’t managed to confirm it. He’s only losing to De Minaur, Fonseca, and Auger-Aliassime. In other words, he hasn’t been lucky with the draw. You can’t really blame him too much for those losses. The level wasn’t incredibly high, but when there are good players on the other side of the net, it immediately becomes tougher. I also think he was a bit tired from constantly having to grind out matches like that. The fact is, this time he’s back in a smaller-category tournament with a manageable first round. Granted, Brooksby is hard to handle, but he’s a notch below the Greek’s previous opponents. He’s got the opportunity and will have to seize it.

It’s going to take more than a win over Mpeshi for me to say that Brooksby is dangerous again. The American has been stringing together more than mediocre performances this season and hasn’t shown any real bright spots in his game. His win yesterday was good, but the level on the other side was incredibly low. Mpeshi was just awful. There’s a lot more quality waiting for him from his next opponent, and I rather like the conditions for Tsitsipas, especially with a relatively high bounce and a fast court. The Greek can really make his serve and forehand work, unlike Brooksby. The American plays a very different style and has a very different profile. He builds his points strategically and tactically, changing speeds, heights, and angles. He’s a smart player but sometimes lacks that little something to really make the difference.

It’s not really the kind of profile that usually bothers Tsitsipas. I like it when the Greek has time and can get into a baseline battle. I still rate him above Brooksby, but I don’t fully trust him either.