Tennis Prediction Feldbausch vs Vallejo: Kitzbuhel

Kitzbuhel 🇦🇹

• The 20-year-old Swiss just came out of ten full days in the mountains: he snatched a set from Kecmanovic for his baptism in Gstaad, then mastered four qualifying sets without dropping one, right here on these courts. His altitude adjustment is done, and he is fresh.

• On the other side, the story is magnificent and deserves respect: the first Paraguayan in an ATP semi-final in 24 years, Vallejo lived the week of his life in Bastad. But that week was played on slow clay at sea level, ended on Saturday, and left more than seven hours of tennis in his legs.

• The mountain air changes the trajectories, the return references, the timing, and this adjustment requires days that the Paraguayan has not had. On his side, Feldbausch has never won a single main draw ATP match, and I'm not asking him to do it today: I'm targeting the first set, where his adjustment advantage weighs the most and the opponent's experience weighs the least.

• There is finally this precedent that the ranking gap makes us forget: the only confrontation between the two men, on clay in Santiago last year, the Swiss had settled it 6-2, 6-2. Vallejo has changed dimensions since, of course, but that day, his tennis had found no grip on this matchup.

• I expect a much more complicated match than it appears for Vallejo, and I therefore see value on the Swiss' S1.