Phew, what a relief!

The Chinese player didn’t crack under pressure in the first round like last year and now dreams of continuing his adventure at home.

Last year, Bu completely crumbled under pressure and never managed to play his best tennis. I felt he was still tense at a few moments in his match against Zheng, but he showed great mental strength and managed to be clutch in the most important moments. He got his revenge against the American and should go into this second round with less pressure and stress on his shoulders. He’s been ramping up for a few weeks now and we’ll have to watch out for him here. He has a complete game, he works hard from the baseline but also knows how to move forward, and his mentality is always impeccable. He’s a really solid player and tough to beat.

Majchrzak also made a big impression on me during his match against Bellucci. It was a complete and perfect match from him, and yet Bellucci didn’t play badly either. Majchrzak focused on making him play as much as possible from the baseline while limiting his errors, and it ended up paying off. He’s also hard to handle with his low, flat shots close to the net, as well as his game intelligence. We had to keep an eye on him after a trip to Australia for the Davis Cup, but I didn’t feel he was tired at all.

This will be a first meeting between these two players. I think Bu should be the one trying more things in this match, with Majchrzak more in a receiving/counterpunching role from the baseline. But I’m not sure. We have to wait and see how both manage to adapt to one another. Even though I liked Bu’s first-round match, I feel like this is the kind of match that suits Majchrzak’s game, and that when he plays at this level, he’s a notch above this type of player. Verdict tomorrow, but I have a little idea already...