A spot in the next round is at stake on Tuesday, when Darwin Blanch goes up against Mark Lajal in the Bloomfield Hills round of 32. Mark Lajal is 6-4 across recent matches. Darwin Blanch has dropped 2 straight and sits at 4-6 over the last ten.
The two have never played — a first meeting always adds a layer of uncertainty the numbers can't fully capture.
Hold strength tells the story — 73.9% versus 70.9% on first-serve points in Lajal's favor. This one is close to a coin flip, and the lean toward Lajal is exactly that — a lean.