he needs immediate work in 3 areas:
1. fitness
2. backhand
3. return of serve
Agreed. He cannot be getting tired in the first set!!!
And he needs to get that backhand working consistently.
And work on that return of serve.
And he will. He knows where he is in the history of the game.
It's time to stop slacking off.
He did not have the energy and the fire to fight djokovic tooth and nail.
You need both.
You were right. He should have skipped Miami and IW and immediately gotten on the clay. Bad decision. His clay game is coming together, but that time would have been invaluable.
The key is knowing when to come back, and on what surface.