Hamburg heats up with second-round action on Wednesday, when Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime battles France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Also, Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina takes on Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.
(6) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
This will be the second meeting between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The Frenchman prevailed at the 2024 Basel event, but that was on lightning fast indoor courts. Mpetshi Perricard, who wields one of the biggest serves on the tour, has a game tailor made for fast, slick surfaces. That his second meeting with Auger-Aliassime comes on one of the slowest courts of the season is a big benefit to the Canadian.
Auger-Aliassime posted a tidy straight-set win over Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in the first round, while Mpetshi Perricard had a trickier battle against Alexander Bublik. While generally clay would be a positive for Auger-Aliassime, he has had miserable results on the dirt this season–bad enough that he came into Hamburg without a single win during the clay swing in three tournaments played.
With the form he’s in, it’s difficult to pick the No. 6 seed to win any match against a top-50 player. Despite the surface, I’m giving this one to Mpetshi Perricard.
Cheryl pick: Mpetshi Perricard in 3
Ricky pick: Auger-Aliassime in 3
(5) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Flavio Cobolli
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has had mixed results on clay this year, but that’s not entirely surprising. He is not a typical Spanish clay-court specialist, although he’s a threat on the dirt when he is playing well–as evidenced by his run to the semifinals in the Monte-Carlo Masters last month. The world No. 26 performed better on hard courts this season with final appearances in Delray Beach and Acapulco.
Flavio Cobolli, ranked 35th in the world, won the ATP 250 event in Bucharest earlier this season. But he has been a bit off the boil since then, failing to move past the quarterfinals at the Challenger event in Turin last week. It should be noted that Cobolli has a 2-0 record over Davidovich Fokina, although both of the their matches last year came on hard courts and at a time when the Spaniard was struggling with his form.
If the French Open was not right around the corner, I would give the edge to Davidovich Fokina. But since it is, it’s unlikely that the Spaniard will risk exhausting himself in Hamburg.
Cheryl pick: Cobolli in 3
Ricky pick: Cobolli in 3
WWW?
I came back solely for this matchup haha. + EV on Perri Card, c’mon man, it’s a no brainer. even if pteshi was a favorite, i’d still consider taking him over Ali. i told you at the beginning of the year, after their “breakthrough”. Fade Ali and Shapo for the rest of the year. You’ll lose maybe 2 out of 10 times. But it’d be worth the lost money to see them play (which they won’t).
I thought Altmaer would beat FAA through home support alone.Thsts how little faith I have in FAa
Altmaier was always the choice
surprising result
I avoided the landmine of Zverev, just to run into the landmine of Pegula.
Unfortunately, this matchup with Felix has no bearing to me at this point.
There’s definitely an economy that takes place mid tournaments, as you can see with these two top seeds being bounced out, and it’s all about timing them. Skill set, rank, none of that really matters on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The same takes place in other sports. Best to usually avoid mid week matches, I’ve learned. If your timing is off, then it’s best to just walk away, it’s not likely to get better, and it’s just best to wait until the next tournaments if you fail to get past the opening rounds. If you can get the timing right, then you can see some success. That’s why it’s probably best to bet Live, just to feel things out.
I’ll try to be back mid to late French Open.
It could be a strategic purse winning thing. Go through main tour, collect show fees, try to win favorable draws in 250 and 500 Tournies.
Zverev was just there for the app fee, as expected