ATP Tokyo Tournament, Round of 16, Wednesday, 10/18/2023
Next stop: Tokyo! The men’s ATP Tour is currently on the road in the Asian region, among other places, and for the first time since 2019 the tournaments may take place here again. Our gaze, of course, goes especially in the direction of the German and Austrian players.
Those who competed in black-red-gold have all already cancelled their sails, so it’s all the nicer that we now get to deal with world number 47, because he’s up against a top-seeded man.
One who has been falling off the wagon for months, but still enjoys the role of favorite at Bet-at-Home and consorts. In my Auger-Aliassime Ofner tip, I now reveal why I trust the underdog to win at least one set!
For years he has been one of the most promising talents in the world, at some point he also got rid of his nervousness in finals and finally wanted to really show off on the stage of the Grand Slams.
Felix Auger-Aliassime is only 23 years old, and yet he has already experienced more in his career than many an old hand. But instead of challenging competitors such as Carlos Alcaraz or Daniil Medvedev, he is now unfortunately going downhill again.
Auger-Aliassime is barely holding his own in the top 20 and is completely out of shape. It sounds unbelievable, but he hasn’t won two matches in a row since his Indian Wells quarterfinal in March.
At the US Open, he was clearly defeated by Mackenzie McDonald in the opener, and did not find his form at all afterwards. In Beijing as well as Shanghai he was knocked out in the 1st round, at least he was able to avoid the Asian triple in Tokyo.
As expected, he had a hard time against Aleksandar Vukic, but finally managed to win 7-6, 6-7, 6-2. He only converted five of 16 break chances and didn’t seem to be really concentrated.
For the first time ever he takes part in this tournament, knows that also the bookmakers’ confidence in him has decreased by now. Still, he is ahead on Wednesday, with the odds coming in at an average of 1.35 to 3.20.
He has never had to play Sebastian Ofner before, but he should have noticed that the Austrian has really taken off in 2023, almost the opposite of himself!
The 27-year-old is ranked number 47 in the world, wants to keep himself in the top 50 and steadily fight a little further forward. Reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals, he started his Asian tour with manageable success so far.
In Shanghai he failed in the 2nd round, but against a certain Tommy Paul one may already concede defeat. In Tokyo, he did the same to Felix Auger-Aliassime and advanced by a feat of strength against an Australian.
In the duel with Christopher O’Connell, the match did not want to end before Ofner could secure a 6-7, 7-6, 7-5. Here, too, it has to be said: Three breaks in eleven opportunities? There would have been more in it!
My Auger-Aliassime Ofner tip
How long will it last, the suffering of Felix Auger-Aliassime? The Canadian is longing for the end of the season, since March his performances have been dull and he hasn’t been able to win more than one tournament for a long time.
Sebastian Ofner is also not quite in the form he had in the middle of the year, but in my opinion the Austrian has what it takes to be able to hold a candle to Aliassime in his crisis. For this reason, I also recommend the following tip:
Ofner wins at least one set against Auger-Aliassime!
