The Grand Finale
It’s been a long tournament, but we’ve reached the final stage!
Sometimes we see a player in the final who has scraped his way through a lot of tough matches and tiebreaks. However, this time, this has not been the case at all! Both players have won five matches to get here, and they have quite clearly been the better players in their matches. Also, they have both just dropped a single set on the way here, and I would say that they could've just as well won both those matches in straight sets! So yes, both players are in really good form, without a doubt. I would say that Tiafoe's run has been slightly more surprising, considering he looked a bit shaky in Washington/Montreal, and given the fact that he had the cyst removal surgery.
As I said, both players are on fire, so it's not entirely easy to separate them, but let's do our best. Personally, I think that Fils has been playing at an absolutely elite level in just about all his matches here; there is so much intensity, pace, physicality, and power - everything is there. I think the match that left such a big impression on me this week was when he came up against Lehecka, a player who can really thrive in these conditions. Yet, he looked like a child on the court when playing against Fils. He managed to somewhat steal the second set, but for 90% of the match, it was the same thing happening. Well, I questioned Fils' ability to follow up such a performance... and he kind of did that, three times in a row, in his next matches. His forehand in particular has been absolutely lethal, and I do think Tiafoe suffers a bit more if this match heads in that direction (very fast-paced). I really don't want to underestimate what Tiafoe has done either; he has been playing monstrous matches, with one of the best "return ratings" I have seen against FAA (8.3). In his last two matches against Musetti and Nakashima, he was the one who was able to dictate and take control - will he stay strong enough to not let Fils run over him?
