Challenger Bendigo - Difficult decision for grinding German

2020 got off to a good start for us as Jessica Pegula covered the 2.5 games handicap against Zidansek easily, beating the Slovenian 6-2 6-3. Pegula broke straight away in the first service game and did not allow a single break point all match. The American is into the quarterfinals now where she faces Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet.

Solid Start to the Season

Just like the WTA tournament in Auckland, we also reached the quarterfinal stage at the ATP Challenger in Bendigo. The event was scheduled to take place in Canberra, but had to be moved 600 kilometres southwestward to Bendigo due to the fatal bushfires. There will be another Challenger here next week, which might have an impact on the upcoming match between American Steve Johnson and Philipp Kohlschreiber from Germany.

Both players lived up to their seeds as Johnson is the #5 and Kohlschreiber the #4 seed. The American had a tough test to overcome in his first match against Zhizhen Zhang. After losing the first set in a tiebreak, he bounced back and beat the up-and-coming Chinese 6-7 6-4 6-4. His reward: a day off, something that's not to be disdained in temperatures of 30 degrees and more. Yesterday, Johnson beat fellow countryman Bradley Klahn 6-4 7-6.

Philipp Kohlschreiber started his 2020 campaign one day later. The German won his first match 6-4 7-5 against Aleksandar Vukic before also beating a compatriot in Peter Gojowczyk 7-5 6-4.

Significant Schedule

Today's quarterfinal will be Kohlschreiber's third match in three days. Although that might not be too big of an issue for a top athlete, it could be a tough task today for the 36-year-old. The match is scheduled third on Centre Court, meaning it will probably start in the biggest heat of the day. As mentioned before, six-years-younger Johnson had a day off between his first and second match.

So I don't want to question Kohlschreiber's fitness level at all. He still is one of the great competitors on tour, but there might be another concern: his tournament scheduling. The German is listed to play qualifying in Auckland, which will start on Saturday. I'm not aware of his motivations, but at least there's a chance he will consider playing an ATP event rather than reaching the semifinal in a Challenger this week. On the other side, Johnson is scheduled to play back to back Challengers in Bendigo, so he definitely won't be thinking about leaving the site yet.

On paper, this is close to a 50/50 match. The two also split their meetings before, both played on grass. However Johnson won the most recent one in Halle 6-3 6-3 last year. Matchupwise, Johnson's slice can annoy Kohlschreiber, especially if the German is looking for a quick match here. This one might come down to motivational angles and regarding the circumstances, I do like Johnson as an underdog in this situation.