Mensik's Lucky Draw?

Mochizuki in R1 and Rodionov in R2...

That's a very easy path to the third round! Mensik did not have to do much against Mochizuki in the first round, since the Japanese player is completely out of form at the moment and really struggles on his own serve. Despite that, some signs from Mensik indicate that he is not at his best right now. He still plays at a good level; his excellent serving and ability to counterpunch give him a high floor. However, he is going through moments in almost every match where he has a big dip, not able to hit first serves at all. It happened against Mochizuki as well, which led to him getting broken a few times in the third set - luckily enough, Mochizuki was not able to capitalize at all. It has not really been an issue in favorable matchups and when he is a big favorite, but it's something that I want to keep in mind when he faces tougher opponents, if he keeps it up.

Rodionov managed to come through the qualifiers and was given a bit of a gift in the first round as well, facing Mpetshi Perricard, who is playing some absolutely dreadful tennis right now (not even his serve is a weapon currently). Still, he managed the match in straight sets, two tiebreaks, and a 6-0 😂 Rodionov is mainly a Challenger-level player, but we see him win a few matches now and then at ATP level. This is obviously a tough match for him, and I'm curious to see how he goes at it, from a tactical standpoint. I would like for him to focus on being really solid and let Mensik take initiative (without being overly passive), and play with a lot of variety. While being a lefty tends to have its advantages, I don't think this applies against Mensik - who has a very strong backhand. Can Rodionov give him a decent fight, or will Mensik manage to be efficient and keep himself fresh for the further rounds?