Comeback match

Right now, Altmaier is reacting pretty well. He was down a set and a break in his last two wins, against Vukic and Wong respectively. Those two players have fairly similar profiles: very big servers who can then make a difference from the baseline while maintaining a certain solidity. This mix doesn’t really suit the German, but he still managed to push himself to go and get the win.

He prefers much more erratic baseline players, whom he can manage to counter or surprise with his down-the-line backhand, for example. On the other hand, when he has to work too much from the baseline and take the initiative, that’s where he’s much less effective. We’ve already seen it several times against more defensive players who are good on the return, and that’s really not where he excels. That’s exactly what he’s expecting here against Comesana.

The Argentinian is struggling to get back to his level this year, but he seems quite motivated at the moment and could find some good momentum in a tournament that might suit him. I thought his first round against Wu was decent, but the Chinese player made so many errors that it’s hard to really give him credit. However, in theory, that’s what he might be facing today against Altmaier. If Comesana goes into grinder mode, slicing with his backhand and countering with volume while waiting for the error, then he definitely has a shot against Altmaier. Sure, the momentum is more on the German’s side, but let’s not forget he was still trailing quite heavily in his last two wins. I really don’t find him in good form at the moment.