Gaston to avenge Atmane.

Faria, miraculously through the first round after saving two match points, may have just opened up the draw for herself the right way. In any case, her second round is still within her reach.

It's a bit of a somewhat stolen win by Faria given how the match unfolded, but after rewatching the whole encounter, I think that in terms of pure level, it’s not really a robbery as such. It’s mainly the scenario that makes it feel that way, but in terms of play, I saw a Faria at the same level, if not a bit better than Atmane. He pulled through and put up a good fight again after a long trip because of the Davis Cup. I’d be a bit wary on that front because the backlash could also show up tomorrow in a night session that should slow the game down a bit, against a Gaston who can produce tough matches where you can lose your head and start forcing things when you’re lacking clarity…

Gaston confirmed his good current form by taking out Shimabukuro, who was surely a bit short on energy after the Davis Cup. I found Gaston very focused and pretty clean in how he played his match. The Frenchman has been on an upward trajectory for a little while now, and as I said in the analysis before his first round, he often tends to play well at the end of the season, especially indoors, which can really fire him up. What better than a good Asian swing before following it up with the indoor season at home? I’m convinced he’s going to put in another good match tomorrow and maybe go and get something out of it.

His counterpunching profile is quite interesting against Faria, who hits a ton and can rack up unforced errors. He’s a player who can do a bit of everything, especially on serve. That part was quite solid today against Atmane, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pile up double faults and maybe run a bit lower on energy. I like Gaston in this role. I think the match-up is interesting for him and that he’s got a real shot to play tomorrow.