Flavio Cobolli will be back in action following his runner-up performance at Roland Garros when he faces Frances Tiafoe in round one of the Halle ATP 500 on Monday. Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime kicks off his week against Nuno Borges.
(6) Flavio Cobolli vs. Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe is undoubtedly of the mindset that this matchup should have been the top-half semifinal at the French Open. Instead, the 26th-ranked American squandered a 4-1, 40-15 lead in the fourth set and ended up losing a five-set marathon to Arnaldi in round four. The Italian ended up reaching the semifinals, only to withdraw because of illness before facing Cobolli. That sent Cobolli to the championship match, which he lost in five sets to Alexander Zverev.
Physically, the 10th-ranked Italian will obviously be fine as he begins his grass-court campaign at the Terra Wortmann Open. Regrouping mentally following the best two weeks of his career, however, could be a different story. It doesn’t help that Cobolli’s first-round draw against Tiafoe is extremely rough. Tiafoe leads the head-to-head series 3-1 after dominating their most recent encounter 6-1, 6-2 a few months ago at the Indian Wells Masters. Cobolli made a run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals last summer, but Tiafoe also has a history of success on grass. Look for the 28-year-old to advance.
Pick: Tiafoe in 3
Nuno Borges vs. (2) Felix Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime and Borges will be squaring off for the third time in their careers on Monday. The head-to-head series is tied up 1-1, with Auger-Aliassime prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the 2025 Dubai event before Borges advanced via retirement at this year’s Australian Open while leading 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
It’s clear that Borges can be competitive in tis matchup, but grass does not help matters for the world No. 50 from Portugal. He is 11-15 lifetime on the green stuff. Auger-Aliassime’s results on grass have been a mixed bag over the years, but stylistically he should be quite good on it — keeping points short with a big serve-forehand combination. This match will certainly be on the fourth-ranked Canadian’s racket; if he plays anywhere close to his best, it will be too good for Borges.
Pick: Auger-Aliassime in 2
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