Two in-form players Felix Auger-Aliassime and Holger Rune will battle it out in the finals of the Basel Open on Sunday in what promises to be a riveting clash.
The Canadian youngster is in the form of his life and seems invincible at the moment. He is one victory away from winning three titles in a row. With the kind of tennis he has been playing of late, it’s hard to bet against him.
The 24-year-old dropped the first set in his first match against Marc-Andrea Huesler. That was his only set dropped so far in the tournament. In the round of 16, the world No. 9 played a near-perfect match and blew away his opponent, Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets 6-1, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, Auger-Aliassime continued his dominance as he went past Alexander Bublik in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. This win for the third seed set up a mouth-watering clash in the semis against the world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. However, the match was all about the Canadian sensation showing his skills and outplaying the 19-year-old. The match ended 6-3, 6-2 in favor of Auger-Aliassime.
The 19-year-old is all set to storm into the top 20 for the first time in his career on the back of some sensational performances. Rune has not lost a set so far in the competition.
In the round of 32, the Danish youngster went past the No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur in straight sets 6-2, 7-5. Rune outplayed the experienced Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-2 in the round of 16. The quarterfinals and semifinals saw Rune defeat Arthur Rinderknech and Roberto Bautista Agut with sheer confidence. He did have to fight hard in the first set against Rinderknech and both sets against the Spanish veteran but it seemed as if he had things under control at all times. Even when he was trailing 6-2 in the second set tiebreaker against Bautista Agut. The semi-final match finished with the score 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (8-6) in favor of Rune.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have not faced each other as yet.
Prediction: Felix Auger-Aliassime to win in three sets.
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