This tournament isn’t easy.

Between a high number of lucky losers and very weak qualifiers, we end up with tricky first rounds.

Gorzny is a lucky loser after losing in qualifying, and the field there wasn’t exactly strong to begin with. I don’t know this player; I just watched a few of his Challenger matches, and he doesn’t seem to have an ultra‑aggressive profile. He generates quite a bit of volume on the forehand side with a slightly closed grip and seems to want to build his points. His serve isn’t that strong, and neither is his backhand. I’d say that, to some extent, he reminds me of Kypson, because he’s a slightly different kind of American player who doesn’t try to crush the ball and rush the net quickly. I find him a bit light based on what I’ve seen, and the results aren’t very convincing either. He doesn’t have much experience on tour, but neither does his opponent today. We’re still talking about a player who is currently ranked 782nd in the world. That’s very low, but it might be the opportunity of a lifetime for him.

And yes, because the draw was favorable to him by giving him Hewitt. He’s replacing Prizmic, who withdrew. It’s also good news for the young Australian, who goes from playing against Prizmic to facing a lucky loser ranked very far down. It’s a big opportunity for him too. I’m not going to lie, I still find him quite light, especially on serve. And even if he works well from the baseline and you can see a certain potential, he’s mostly very young and still lacks experience and stamina at this level. What I like about this match-up is that his opponent isn’t very dangerous on serve or from the baseline. In other words, the pace should suit the young Australian, who will also be able to construct his points and step in to hit down-the-line when he gets the chance.

In the end, I almost want to say that it’s Hewitt who has the most experience, thanks to his Washington tournament, as well as having been around Australian players in the Davis Cup his whole life. It’s a big opportunity for him, and that was already the case in Washington. We saw how focused he was on taking his chance. He’s not afraid of the big stage and will really go for it. For me, he should already be the favorite in this match.