Hey, Tennis Pro! Happy Tuesday.

Fresh start. Another beginning to a new week and a fresh start to ATP tournaments. On this occasion, we will be following closely the activity of a couple of ATP 250 tournaments in Italy and Spain with the Firenze Open and the Gijón Open, respectively. As an interesting fact, it is the first edition of both tournaments on tour (Firenze resumes after an absence since 1994).

Thiem thoughts. I had the chance to watch a set of Dominic's match against the Portuguese Sousa. Apart from the absolute dominance of the Austrian in the brief two-set match, what stood out the most in the beautiful Italian city was that single-handed backhand that annihilated any flash attempt by the Portuguese point after point. We sure missed those Thiem trademark winners!

This graph reminds us that the number one seed is not always the favorite to take the trophy home. There are a number of factors that can affect the probability of a championship run, such as the difficulty of the draw or a player's positive or negative history in a certain tournament.

Now we see a Berrettini who appears as the favorite to attain the goal of the Firenze cup staying at home. If I had to give my prediction I expect a very likely final against Felix. However, I believe it would come down to a coin toss in the final instance, since they have only met three times and the Italian has a 2-1 lead. Nevertheless, Matteo has the home court advantage and a charisma that makes him shine especially in his Italian lands.

Iga loses at Ostrava, wins at our hearts

World Mental Health Day was celebrated yesterday and I saw a lot of awareness around social media about these diseases that afflicts many individuals around the world regardless of their personal context. A big, big hug to all the people who are struggling with any illness related to mental health.

Yet, the one who knocked it out of the park was Iga Swiatek who made her own effort on raising awareness for those in need for mental health help with the announcement she made after losing Sunday's final in Ostrava to Barbora Krejcikova. As soon as she accepted the defeat that ended her 10-match winning streak, she announced to the public that 100% of the prize awarded as runner-up would be donated to Polish non-profit organizations that support people with different mental health-related illnesses.

Just an excellent example and I believe these types of initiatives should be recognized and promoted. When it comes to mental health, the more exposure we give to this “silent illness”, the more attention we can provide to patients who require treatment.

I salute you, Iga…

Yesterday’s Spotlight

🔝 ATP 250 Firenze Open

🇷🇺 A. Karatsev / 🇳🇱 T. Griekspoor [6/3, 2/1]

🇨🇴 D. Galán / 🇪🇸 R. Carballés Baena [2/6, 1/6]

🔝 ATP 250 Gijón Open

🇦🇷 S. Baez / 🇫🇷 C. Lestienne [6/7, 4/4]

🇦🇹 D. Thiem / 🇵🇹 J. Sousa [6/2, 6/0]

🇪🇸 M. Landaluce / 🇺🇸 T. Paul [3/6, 0/6]

What’s cooking today…

🔝 ATP 250 Firenze Open

🇰🇿 A. Bublik / 🇨🇱 C. Garin

🇫🇷 R. Gasquet / 🇺🇸 B. Nakashima

🇧🇪 D. Goffin / 🇮🇹 F. Passaro

🔝 ATP 250 Gijón Open

🇫🇷 M. Guinard / 🇮🇹 F. Fognini

🇺🇸 M. Giron / 🇪🇸 A. Ramos-Viñolas

🇪🇸 A. Davidovich Fokina / 🇬🇧 A. Murray