The trap!

We all know those rematches where one of the two players handled their opponent really well the first time and then just can’t manage to do it again the second time...

It's never easy to beat the same player twice in a short period of time; usually the one who lost adapts and changes a couple of details that make the difference. We'll be watching to see what Bonzi might adjust because, in itself, the match-up was completely unplayable for him against a player who’s too strong in defensive phases. Buse is a master at absorbing power and neutralizing his opponents from the baseline; he absolutely disgusted Bonzi, who just had no answers at all. You’ll say the Frenchman still took a set, but that was mostly a gift from Buse— the Peruvian has lapses during his matches and that was one of those moments.

On the whole match though, for me there was no contest, and I even found Bonzi switched off. The Frenchman may already have had his mind on the US Open; we’ll get our answer in this rematch. So what’s different this time? The conditions have changed, the bounce is lower, which is more interesting for Bonzi’s game, because Winston-Salem was just perfect for Buse, who could put a lot of spin and depth on the ball and push him back. It’s less straightforward at the US Open, as we saw against Giron. A little MTO for the Peruvian to take some medicine as well, something to keep an eye on, even though I didn’t see any lack of energy after the first set—quite the opposite.

Bonzi will surely want to be even more aggressive and come to the net; he’s still a competitor, and if he feels that Buse isn’t at the same level as last week, we can count on him to press the advantage. We’re at a Slam and, when you think about it, Buse doesn’t manage his matches all that well; his easy wins are rare. He’ll surely have another dip in level at some point, and it’ll be up to Bonzi to take advantage. Verdict?