George Turner
Hall of Fame
Nadal has unfortunately had to pull out, meaning Carreno Busta takes his place as the number one seed. Nadal should not have played but we wish him well in his recovery. PCB now faces a vital match vs Thiem, in what will all probability be a low quality affair with Thiem out of form and PCB not really a top 10 standard player.
Thiem was all too predictable in his opening match against Dimi, bizarrely standing near the baseline on first serves but 10 feet behind it on second and staying there during rallies. Dimitrov didn't play great but was still the classier player throughout, aided by a poor first serve percentage from Thiem. Thiem is not going to adjust his strategy of standing far behind the baseline but he can at least get more first serves in and then try and dictate points. This is the area where he should be looking to improve this tournament.
Hard to say much about PCB, he has one win since the US open including being bagelled by Steve Darcis. He brings very little to the table at this level but if there's a match where he can get a win, it's this one. if PCB is solid enough he may find some success against a player who himself only has 2 wins since the US open. If PCB gets into the match Thiem may resort to his trick of hitting everything harder and harder which is not good for Thiem. Then again Thiem may see PCB as a weak opponent and an opportunity for himself to get a bit of confidence.
Prediction; Thiem in 3.
Thiem was all too predictable in his opening match against Dimi, bizarrely standing near the baseline on first serves but 10 feet behind it on second and staying there during rallies. Dimitrov didn't play great but was still the classier player throughout, aided by a poor first serve percentage from Thiem. Thiem is not going to adjust his strategy of standing far behind the baseline but he can at least get more first serves in and then try and dictate points. This is the area where he should be looking to improve this tournament.
Hard to say much about PCB, he has one win since the US open including being bagelled by Steve Darcis. He brings very little to the table at this level but if there's a match where he can get a win, it's this one. if PCB is solid enough he may find some success against a player who himself only has 2 wins since the US open. If PCB gets into the match Thiem may resort to his trick of hitting everything harder and harder which is not good for Thiem. Then again Thiem may see PCB as a weak opponent and an opportunity for himself to get a bit of confidence.
Prediction; Thiem in 3.
