Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada serves the ball as he plays his semifinal tennis match against Roman Safiullin of Russia (unseen) at the ATP Open 13 in Marseille, on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images)
The Canadian sensation Felix Auger-Aliassime locks horns with current Kazakhstani No. 1 Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals of the Basel Open on Friday.
The 24-year-old is in swashbuckling form and is seeking his third title in as many weeks. Auger-Aliassime is currently on a 10-match winning streak after coming into the tournament on the back of title wins at the Firenze Open and the European Open and so far winning a couple of matches in Basel.
The world No. 9 began his campaign in the Basel Open with a solid come-from-behind victory against the 2022 Sofia Open champion Marc-Andrea Huesler. The match ended 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-4 in favor of the third seed. In the round of 16, Auger-Aliassiame hardly broke a sweat as he completely outplayed Miomir Kecmanovic to win the match 6-1, 6-0 in just 49 minutes.
The world No. 38 is on the hunt for his second title this season. He had won the Open Sud de France earlier in the year and since then gone on to reach a couple of finals but the rub of the green has not gone his way. Bublik came into the tournament on the back of a quarter-final loss at the Firenze Open against Jeffrey John Wolf.
He has won both of his matches so far in straight sets. In the round of 32, Bublik got the better of Aslan Karatsev 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the round of 16, Bublik triumphed comprehensively with the score of 6-3, 6-3.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-1. Bublik won their previous meeting at the 2020 Hamburg Open in straight sets.
Prediction: Felix Auger-Aliassime to win in straight sets.
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