Sho Shimabukuro is the marginal favourite against Hugo Gaston in the Hangzhou Open first round, but this is one of the genuinely awkward matchups in the bottom quarter of the draw.
Gaston is a specialist in making tennis uncomfortable. The drop shot, the changes of height, the refusal to trade groundstrokes at a set pace: all of it is designed to drag opponents out of rhythm. On slower clay that formula has produced his best results. On a quick outdoor hard court in Hangzhou it becomes a riskier proposition, because the surface gives him less time to set up the variety and gives his opponent more reward for straightforward aggression.
Shimabukuro's game is built for exactly that reward. The Japanese player serves well for his size and strikes the ball flat and early off both wings. He does not need Gaston to cooperate, he simply needs to hold serve and take the short balls the Frenchman inevitably offers.
The concern is patience. Shimabukuro can drift into long rallies he should have ended, and that is where Gaston wins matches. Expect three sets either way.
**Prediction: Shimabukuro in three sets. Confidence: low.**