New status!

Atmane is somewhat expected on the French side for this tournament; we’re eager to see him shine.

Great preparation from Atmane for this tournament. He’s performed well in pretty much every event he’s played. Yet he’s had some disastrous draws. We’ve seen him combative and very strong in managing to get out of trouble every time. He’s earned himself some good scalps with strong performances and only lost to players of Zverev’s calibre, without disgracing himself. The only downside is that he pulled out of Winston-Salem because of a slight knee injury, but he was already reassuring after his match against Zverev, saying it wasn’t serious, and I even think it’s a very good thing he didn’t play that small tournament. He’ll arrive at the US Open fresh and ready to back up his good preparation results.

It’s the complete opposite for Munar, who hasn’t prepared for this tournament because of a back injury that flared up again. He can’t put matches together this season and keeps picking up small injuries. For his return, he was average in Gstaad, then he scraped out a win against Hijikata but without playing very well. He hasn’t played since, and we don’t really know what condition he’s in. Even assuming he’s at 100% physically, I’m still quite skeptical about the level of tennis he’s shown this year. So yes, watch out, he’s a player who generally raises his game in the Grand Slams, and that will probably be the case again this time, but I feel like that’s the only thing he’s really relying on because the rest really doesn’t inspire confidence.

For a first meeting, I have to say that with Atmane’s recent level of play, I still see him capable of getting through against this type of opponent. Munar is good in defense and on the counter, and he’s learned to be a bit more aggressive, but Atmane is improving more and more. I’ve seen him get through tough matches recently, like against Draper or Echeverry, where he really made his opponents work from the baseline and offered real resistance. That’s more or less what we should see against Munar, and our Frenchman comes in full of confidence and physically strong, two things that aren’t true for Munar. In other words, if the match were to drag on, I’d be on Terrence’s side, as I expect him to confirm his good form.