Victoire Sonego?

That’s what I tell myself right away without even looking at the head-to-head, because when things speed up a bit for Manna, he doesn’t like it, even less so in hot and humid conditions. That said, I still think the Frenchman’s got some serious gas left in the tank, and he’s about to play one of his favorite tournaments: the US Open.

His last matches haven’t been that bad either, in my opinion. Mostly a question of match‑up, and guys who played well on the day. And now here he is up against a Sonego who could’ve done better in his R1 against Herbert, but found himself in a fierce battle that was very reminiscent of their Roland Garros match this year.

The last 3 meetings between the two have been on hard courts and all ended in a win for Manna. But according to the Frenchman, “it’s not easy.” The two know each other very well. When the momentum is Italian, Manna gets overwhelmed by the power. When it’s French, Sonego is pushed into making errors against a game built on long rallies, but not only that. And we’ve seen again that things can break down more quickly on Sonego’s backhand side, we know that well!

So what do we do?