The forehand slice dig in this point, for example, is completely off the wall youtu.be/pKjXTOF0ShQ?...

This is a player who would probably be first to admit that his movement and defense are not at all in Alcaraz's league, and he came pretty damn close to matching him for the best part of that

I think he'll find quicker courts quite challenging but the first-time matchup advantage isn't going to go away so can hopefully get enough of a points cushion to cover the defence of 1,000 in Shanghai next year

It was a bit exaggerated today because FAA loves to run around his backhand in even quite extreme positions and Vacherot's serve wasn't really hitting spots. But was striking in Shanghai and most of Fritz match in Basel how players were going BH to BH so stubbornly

Bit similar to Zverev. Everything to the forehand. When he tries to change with FH down the line, go straight back there. If forced into a backhand exchange, keep it as straight and central as possible. Slice line to FH to get out. Serve FH / body almost exclusively. If coming forward avoid BH