Our overs bet in the Kwiatkowski-Eubanks match has been a proper sweat. Kwiatkowski, the bookies' favorite, got an early break to lead 2-1. Anyway, he wasn't able to build up on it and got broken back immediately. As it was Eubanks serving first and he was able to get another break, the big serving American won the first set 6-3. An unfortunate score as a second set tiebreak was not enough to get the over. Said tiebreak was reached though and Eubanks almost gifted us the win when losing both his service points at 7-6, but Kwiatkowski actually did the same when serving for the set at 8-7. In the end, the bet was decided by a few points, but it wasn't meant to be.
Shaky Start
Today, Australian Open qualifying continues and the air quality is supposed to be good for the first time this week. In their first round matches, both Brayden Schnur and Kimmer Coppejans still had to deal with the smoke and both managed to come out on top. Schnur lost the first set to Sebastian Ofner, but bounced back and won 2-6 6-3 6-4. After giving up two breaks in set one, the Canadian improved on serve and only allowed one more break chance in sets two and three. He won almost 80% of first serve points and also attacked the net more often than in set one. So it seems like he just needed one set to get into his groove.
While both Schnur and Ofner like the surface to be a little faster, Coppejans' first round match has been one between two clay courter grinders. The Belgian led 5-2, but Federico Gaio managed to fight back, sending the first set to a tiebreak. Once again, Coppejans blew a 4-0 lead and it was back to 4-4. However, from here on, Gaio lost three points in a row again and never stood a chance in set two as Coppejans handed him a bagel.
Canadian Causing Controversy
After winning his first round match, Brayden Schnur created quite some controversy. The Canadian, just like many other players, stood up and criticized the organizers for letting them play in the smoke. Furthermore, he labelled Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as "selfish" as they "only think about themselves and their careers". He was disappointed that the two flagships of the sport didn't raise their voices as well. Certainly, that's been kind of an overreaction and he also apologized yesterday, but it shows how much players suffer in these unhealthy conditions.
As mentioned, the air conditions will be significantly better and I don't think they will have an impact today. Schnur will look to get into the spotlight on court as well after all the media attention he's been getting for his statements.
Surface Advantage Schnur
The court speed should give the Canadian an edge over Coppejans. The faster the courts, the better Schnur's results. His opponent is just the opposite. Schnur's serve is superior and if he keeps playing aggressive, he should be the one dictating the rallies.
It won't be too hot in Melbourne today, just over 20 degrees, so the Belgian's physical advantage might not even show. Assuming the Canadian will be even more hyped after the controversy he caused, I rely on the surface advantage and really like him as the underdog in this matchup on a rather fast hard court.
