Here we go... again!

Once again, it's time to figure out in what shape and with what motivation Bublik shows up...

Well, we have not seen Bublik since Kitzbuhel; it has been a while. We know that he is not a big fan of the US hardcourt swing, mentioning that he feels tired in his body at this point in the season and that he struggles with the humidity. Oh, and yeah, he'd rather be with his son on his birthday... and attend the "Cucumber Festival" 😂 Anyway, he also mentions that he had a decent US Open last year when skipping all the lead-up tournaments, so it seems like everything is quite well-planned from his side. It was always going to be tough for Bublik to replicate the results he had in 2025, but so far I still want to say he is doing quite OK, even if he has dropped some points. We know that with Bublik it's a lot about his mentality and happiness, more so than struggling to find his game. Therefore, if he is feeling good, it usually does not take a long time for him to play well.

As for Wolf, we are happy to see him back on tour after being gone for a while. He has managed to get back to a decent level in the last month or so, even if many of the wins are against CH-level players. I will say that his three matches in Cincinnati did make it feel like he still has quite a way to go, even if he managed to win two of them against weak opposition. Despite a tight scoreline, he didn't stand much of a chance against Duckworth. At least he can find some comfort in the fact that he has a good record against Bublik, leading the H2H 3-1, with the only loss on grass, where he lacks experience. Yes, two wins on American hardcourts as well. We can argue that Bublik has changed a lot and gotten a lot more serious, and that he did not fully commit in these matches, since he did not really care for that part of the season.

Actually, we can look at last year, because Bublik had his last match in the Kitzbuhel final before playing his first round in the USO, then as well. Sure, I'll admit that he was in better form then, coming off two straight titles in Gstaad and Kitzbuhel. Anyway, he showed up and pretty much demolished both Cilic and Schoolkate. Will he be able to do the same here, or will the difference in form prevent that?