Mattia, that magician

I’m an absolute fan of Mattia Bellucci’s tennis.

The Italian is a creative player. He needs to feel good on court, happy, to be able to play his best tennis, which is above all an “inspired” kind of tennis.

He’s not acting cocky going into this match, even if his inspired tennis almost got him the win against Fritz this year in Stuttgart. But here, we’re not on fast grass. We’re in Fritz’s kingdom, on Arthur Ashe Stadium, on a medium-fast hard court, even if it’s a bit more medium this year. In my opinion, they’ll play with the roof closed, so it’ll be faster because it’s less humid. I think that’s better for Bellucci, who’s an explosive player. The Italian really shouldn’t get dragged into too many rallies here.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe anything big is in store for Mattia, because he seems to be going into it a bit like a good loser. Maybe it’s to take the pressure off, but really, he’s not the one who should be feeling it here.