Jacquet in underdog mode.

The Frenchman finds himself in a role he particularly enjoys and, given what he showed in his first round, he might be able to take advantage of it to catch Etcheverry cold.

Jacquet’s first-round match was far from perfect. He finished with around fifty unforced errors, but that was mainly because of how aggressive he was. That’s his game and his identity. He goes for it, and it can work over a few sets, but then become more complicated afterwards. He took advantage of a completely flat Vukic, who had no answers and looked very poor to me, even on serve, which is supposed to be his main strength. Jacquet managed to put pressure on the second serve, and as soon as he had control of the point, he almost systematically won the rallies. If I have to sum up his first round: it wasn’t perfect, but with that level of aggressiveness and a fairly steady progression this season, we can say it’s a tricky first-round match-up for Echeverry to deal with.

The Argentine found his form again at the US Open, and that was somewhat expected because it’s a format he particularly likes. There was a lot of support for him, and his level of play was also on the rise despite a lack of good results. I put him in the category of interesting players for this Asian swing because he’s relatively fresh and always mentally ready to fight, no matter the tournament category or the conditions. Some Argentinians completely write off the end of the season, but that’s not the case with Etcheverry. In the end, after two days in Hangzhou, I can say that the courts are not incredibly fast, unlike in Chengdu. That’s a good thing for Etcheverry, who will be able to implement his game even if Jacquet has the kind of aggressiveness needed to hurt him.

I’m torn about what to expect from this matchup. Sure, Jacquet has obvious qualities that could allow him to attack and put Etcheverry under pressure, but I think he mainly faced a Vukic in poor form, and that Etcheverry will be more stable on serve, but also in his overall game and in defense. As soon as Vukic had to move and defend, it was disastrous. Etcheverry is a bit better in that area. He’s a level above and if the ball keeps coming back deep often enough, Jacquet could get carried away and end up cracking. It’s that classic scenario we know between an attacking player and a very solid one. Which side should we lean toward?