Honestly, I don’t have much trouble seeing Jakub Mensik prevail against Toby Samuel. The Czech seems to me to represent a more complete and talented version of this player profile focused on serve and initiative.
Even if Samuel will likely have his sequences, especially behind his commitment, I think Mensik’s quality will ultimately make the difference in a best-of-three format. His forehand does more damage, his backhand is more solid, and he already has good experience of big events despite his young age.
On the other side, I really like the over 3.5 sets between Arthur Fils and Raphaël Collignon. Even if Fils remains the better player on paper, immediately regaining his best level in a first Grand Slam match is not obvious. Collignon continues to progress, he has shown very nice things on grass and has enough weapons to put Fils under pressure in sequences. I clearly see him capable of grabbing at least one set.
