The last day of competition prior to the Australian Open will see finals take place in Adelaide and Auckland. Sebastian Korda and Felix Auger-Aliassime are meeting at the former, while the latter pits Gael Monfils against Zizou Bergs.
Adelaide International: (5) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (2) Sebastian Korda
Korda and Auger-Aliassime will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they battle for the Adelaide title on Saturday. Auger-Aliassime is leading the head-to-head series 2-1, including 2-0 on hard courts (1-0 outdoors and 1-0 indoors). The Canadian prevailed 6-3, 6-4 four years ago in Acapulco and by the exact same scoreline in the 2022 Antwerp final, while Korda’s lone victory has come via a 6-2, 6-2 decision on the red clay of Estoril in 2022.
Both players are looking to improve on disappointing finals records. Korda is 2-6; Auger-Aliassime is 5-10. One of Korda’s such setbacks came in none other than Adelaide two years ago, but there is no shame in that result. The American had a championship point against Novak Djokovic before eventually succumbing 6-7(8), 7-6(4), 6-4. Korda should be poised to go one step farther this time. It has been a routine week for the world No. 22, who got a first-round bye and a quarterfinal walkover from Thanasi Kokkinakis. He also did not get broken a single time against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Miomir Kecmanovic. Auger-Aliassime has survived a pair of three-setters while ousting Arthur Cazaux, Marcos Giron, and Tommy Paul. Even against Paul the No. 5 seed was plagued by wild inconsistency, which will spell trouble against a rock-solid performer like Korda.
Pick: Korda in 3
ASB Classic: (Q) Zizou Bergs vs. Gael Monfils
Monfils is playing in his 35th ATP final on Saturday in Auckland; Bergs is playing in his first. The experience advantage obviously goes to Monfils, but that may not be the decisive factor. After all, much of the 38-year-old Frenchman’s finals history has not been good–he is 12-22 lifetime in championship matches.
Although Monfils has played well this week, as usual he hasn’t looked quite 100 percent physically. Asking him to string together five impressive matches one after another is a tall order for the veteran, who has advanced with wins over Pedro Martinez (from 6-1, 5-2 down), Jan-Lennard Struff, Facundo Diaz Acosta, and Nishesh Basavareddy. Bergs has been the best player all week long, with successful qualification followed by defeats of Isaac Becroft, Luca Nardi, Roberto Carballes Baena, and Nuno Borges. The 66th-ranked Belgian will play a lot more offense than Monfils, and keeping his opponent on defense could be the difference in what will likely be a long, physical affair.
Pick: Bergs in 3
who ya got?
Korda & Bergs for the win
good picks