ATP Masters in Madrid, x. Round, Wednesday, 04.05.2022
Madrid is looking for a new tennis king! The home fans of the Mutua Open naturally want a Spanish victory, but everything that is fit and has rank and name has arrived.
Even two actually strong players who have been in a slump of form lately want to finally convince again in the Spanish capital. Read my Auger-Aliassime Garin tip to find out why it is almost impossible to find a favourite in this match!
For Felix Auger-Aliassime, the tennis year 2022 is not really going well yet. Yet he started so strongly, losing to Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open after leading 2:0.
A little later, in Rotterdam, he reached the final, but the curse of the final lasted in the Netherlands as well. A little later he showed himself again in France. After losing two finals, the Canadian slipped into a slump that continues to this day.
In Indian Wells and Miami, he pulled out right at the start, losing to Botic van de Zandschulp and Miomir Kecmanovic. In Marrakech, he arrived as a big favourite, but his defeat against Alex Molcan underlined his declining form.
A quarter-final after two previous contested wins in Barcelona is something I have to highlight, as Auger-Aliassime suffered the next setback in his defeat to Sebastian Korda in Estoril a few days ago.
2-6, 2-6 – it’s been a long time since the young Canadian performed so weakly over several weeks. Now he starts in Madrid after a walk-through, Cristian Garin is certainly not the opponent he wanted for the opener.
Auger-Aliassime has never made it past the current round in Madrid, which is probably also due to opponents like Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud. Fittingly, all three direct duels between him and Garin have taken place on clay.
It should not be a disadvantage for him that Cristian Garin is also looking for his best form, because he actually likes to play on clay. In Munich, he had no chance against Alejandro Tabilo, and in Belgrade, too, he didn’t stand a chance against Holger Rune.
Since the Australian Open, Garin has almost always been eliminated in the first round, only in Houston did he reach the final once. So he should never be written off, as became clear a few days ago in Madrid.
With a 6-1, 6-3 win over Frances Tiefoe, he started like fire, gave up only one break chance and reached an unbelievable 100% on his first serve! He played as if the last months had never happened.
This is only his second appearance at the Mutua Open, a year ago he was quite convincing. He beat Danill Medvedev, among others, and was only eliminated in the quarter-finals in three sets against Matteo Berrettini.
My Auger-Aliassime Garin Tip
Can Felix Auger-Aliassime and Cristian Garin be seen eye-to-eye these days? The Canadian is favoured, but his recent performances have been anything but positive.
I therefore believe in a fairly close, entertaining encounter in which Auger-Aliassime will not be strong enough for an outright victory.
My tip therefore: Garin takes at least one set!
