Felix Auger-Aliassime will kick off his Antwerp campaign when second-round competition gets started on Wednesday. Auger-Aliassime is going up against Marton Fucsovics, while Tomas Martin Etcheverry battles Roberto Bautista Agut.
(3) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Marton Fucsovics
Auger-Aliassime and Fucsovics will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when they clash in round two of the European Open on Wednesday. They have split their four previous encounters, with Fucsovics winning their only indoor hard-court meeting 1-6, 6-0, 7-5 at the 2018 Vienna event. The Hungarian also got the job done 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 in their most recent showdown at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
Fucsovics is certainly catching Auger-Aliassime at a good time in Antwerp. The 21st-ranked Canadian is 0-4 in his last four tournament matches dating back to the Cincinnati Masters. He at least picked up a trio of Davis Cup victories last month, but the bottom line is that Auger-Aliassime is not playing well. Fucsovics is in similarly mediocre form, but he already has a victory under his belt this week after defeating Raphael Collignon 6-2, 6-0 on Monday. This is a good opportunity for the world No. 93 to pull off a minor upset.
Pick: Fucsovics in 3
Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (6) Tomas Martin Etcheverry
The surface could be a deciding factor when Etcheverry and Bautista Agut collide for the first time on Wednesday. Bautista Agut is one of the few Spaniards who is much more effective on hard courts and grass than he is on clay. Etcheverry, on the other hand, is an Argentine who–unsurprisingly–does his best work on clay. Bautista Agut has picked up 128 lifetime match victories on indoor hard courts; Etcheverry has won seven such matches. Obviously Bautista Agut has been on tour a lot longer, but the statistic is still telling.
Both guys are coming off solid first-round wins. Bautista Agut destroyed qualifier Luca Van Assche 6-2, 6-1, while Etcheverry beat the soon-to-be-retired Richard Gasquet 7-6(4), 6-4. This should be a high-quality contest between two players who are in good form, but an edge goes to the 36-year-old because of the relatively quick surface.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 3
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