This match is weird, isn’t it?

Interesting clash of styles. For a first round, it’s quite unusual, I think.

Mixed feedback on Shang. I have to repeat what I said in Montreal: he was clutch against Rublev, which earned him a lot of credit, but the rest was pretty average in my opinion. On top of that, he hurt his left forearm a bit. Then he took a bit of a beating, playing a horrible match against Sonego. He pulled out of Winston-Salem again because of that infamous forearm injury. He’s a player who’s often hampered by injuries, and that seems to be the case once again. Of course, you can tell yourself that for a Grand Slam he’ll give it everything and probably be on painkillers, but it’s not reassuring.

What really doesn’t reassure me at all is this draw against that devil Trungelliti, who’s been pissing everyone off this year and keeps having the best season of his career. The Argentinian pulled off more miracles at the last tournament and managed to bother Medvedev, even though he had no business doing so and was physically exhausted. This guy is surprising, and he’s already proven all season that you absolutely must not underestimate him.

He has a bit of trouble closing out sets and matches and has already slipped up several times too. That could be Shang’s way out if the match gets tough, which, to me, it should. Trungelliti is good on return and at absorbing his opponent’s power. Shang is not a very smart player; he often forces it and goes for very tough shots, and on top of that his physical condition over the long haul is questionable. I’m a bit scared of this trap for the Chinese player, in a tricky match-up and in a format that doesn’t really suit him that well.