UTS1 Preview: Why the UTS cards should prove decisive between The Sniper and The Tornado

Get set for a bit of youth and vigour as the two youngsters in the UTS field go head to head; Frenchman Corentin Moutet takes on Alexei Popyrin on Sunday.

Popyrin was the surprise of the opening weekend, beating Elliot Benchetrit and Feliciano Lopez to be 2-for-2 going into week two. But he fell back to Earth with a 4-0 stumble against David Goffin on Saturday. The Aussie had previously used his UTS cards cleverly – often stringing them together – to get the better of his opponents and will be hoping to repeat the feat this time.

The left-handed Moutet – The Tornado – is coming off the best year of his career and how he uses his cards could be the key to his hopes; his penchant for attack makes the winners x 3 card his most likely go-to choice but he’s also tactically astute, so expect him to use the -1 serve card. That’s exactly what he has done against Benoît Paire for his UTS debut, and he was close to pull off the upset.

That could pay dividends if it dents the power of the mighty Popyrin serve, which had Lopez and Benchetrit pinned back for much of their matches last weekend. In this battle of two rising stars, the more mature one will prevail. And this matchup could hint at who has the better long term future. Assuredly exciting.