Is there a catch?

Damm can play on steel, but in a best-of-five format, it’s not the same. Just look at his last match in Winston against Marozsan. The guy was unplayable in set 1, then things gradually started to shift. His sharp, attacking shots turned into inaccuracies. Same with his volleys.

Usually, we’d be sounding the alarm with a Tiafoe who’s not very comfortable against this kind of game. But Frances has improved when it comes to returning serve and dealing with “I don’t have enough time to get set up.” Anyway, in Cincinnati, it was much better! And as proof of that: Sonego, Félix, Nakashima… not a single set dropped. Frances was so good.

So I think we could have expected a match similar to theirs here in 2025, with 4 super tight sets, but I believe Damm’s level will gradually fall apart. The best scenario for him would be to grab the first set and put real pressure on Tiafoe in R1 at a very open US Open this year. But I don’t want to bet on that pre-match...