Unknown x2

Two players with recent injuries that we don't really trust much, we're still going to have to take a gamble.

Prizmic has gone from a player who took part in every match and every tournament at the start of the season to someone who can no longer string performances together. Maybe he already wore himself out with all that grinding. In any case, he’s tried to make a comeback several times, but maybe a bit too early. We saw it recently against Norrie in a match he has to win and that he somehow managed to lose almost on his own, before heading to Quebec to lose to Gallarneau 6-4, 6-4 and then withdrawing from Winston-Salem afterwards. It’s really worrying because he’s a player whose physical condition is very important, and who is by nature quite prone to cramping and to blowing up mid-flight, especially in longer formats. The fact that he’s coming in without rhythm and still potentially with little niggles here and there is really concerning for this kind of format. If the match ends up lasting, he’ll need to be monitored very closely.

To a lesser extent, it’s the same with Shevchenko, who was already hampered during the clay tournaments after Wimbledon, and then took an MTO for an abdominal issue against VDZ in Cincinnati. No matches afterwards for the Kazakh, and we don’t really know in what kind of shape he’ll show up. What I do know about him is that on several occasions I’ve seen him arrive out of form at Grand Slams and still consistently manage to produce good matches, because he brings an enormous level of motivation to them. It’s true that Prizmic also has a big temperament and will give it everything, which could make for a pretty interesting match, even if Shevchenko is obviously a big underdog here. The difference in their potential level on hard is huge.

To be quite blunt, the match depends entirely on Prizmic. If his body holds up, then he has the tennis to put three quick sets on Shevchenko, who shouldn’t really have any answers against this type of player. There’s also the opposite scenario where Prizmic is clearly not at his best and lacks accuracy, to the point of getting dragged into a real trap where, in my view, Shevchenko would potentially have the edge over the long run. I do mean potentially.