Felix Auger-Aliassime will make his 2023 clay-court debut on Saturday against Dusan Lajovic. Frances Tiafoe will also be in Madrid second-round action against recent Houston opponent Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
(7) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Dusan Lajovic
World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime is just coming back from a knee injury that kept him out of the Monte-Carlo Masters. Saturday’s match marks the Canadian’s first foray on clay this season. He has not been on the dirt since last year’s French Open, where he made the round of 16. Clay is Auger-Aliassime’s least successful surface by some margin. He has never won a clay-court title; his record on the surface is 31-28–just a touch over .500. By his normal standards, Auger-Aliassime has been a little off this year. His best result is a quarterfinal showing in Indian Wells in March.
World No. 40 Dusan Lajovic may have a good chance at an upset win in this one. Of note, Lajovic owns a surprising 2-0 head-to-head record over his higher-ranked opponent. The Serb won the second title of his entire career just last week in Banja Luka, where he posted his biggest-ever win over countryman Novak Djokovic. He also beat Andrey Rublev in the final last Sunday. While fatigue may eventually creep into his game, the “slow” start in Madrid–thanks to the decision to extend the tournament to 10 days–can only help Lajovic.
Cheryl pick: Lajovic in 2
Ricky pick: Lajovic in 3
(9) Frances Tiafoe vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry
If this match up looks familiar to you, it’s because American Frances Tiafoe and Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry just played a final in Houston–also on clay. Of course, it should be noted that the clay in Houston is a different beast than the clay that is found in European Masters events. And while that’s true, it should also be pointed out that Madrid, with its high elevation, plays much faster than most other clay tournaments.
Tiafoe won the Houston final in a tight pair of tiebreakers. The American didn’t fare as well in Barcelona. He lost his first match to Emil Ruusuvuori and hasn’t played since. So, at the very least, he should be well rested ahead of this week.
Etcheverry is ranked 59th in the world. Houston was his second final, and his second loss in a title match. He was also dispatched in the second round in Barcelona, although he didn’t get a bye like Tiafoe did–so he won a match there.
This is another opportunity for upset. Like most Americans, Tiafoe is his least successful on the dirt. He’s 25-31 lifetime–not exactly a convincing record. Still, the conditions in Madrid favor big-hitting players more than other clay events. Expect Tiafoe to just pull this one out.
Cheryl pick: Tiafoe in 3
Ricky pick: Tiafoe in 3
WWW?
Lajovic is in god mode right now
Djokovic said when he lost to him that he was very happy for him and that he remembered playing Davis Cup with him. Mind you this was 10-15 years ago.
These guys will hold ups flag for him but Djokovic only remembers an encounter with them 10-15 years ago.
I am not sure what you meant but you completely misinterpreted (or maybe misunderstood) what Novak said about Duci, they are very good friends, knowing each other from the time they played DC matches together since Duci is younger and he arrived later on tennis scene. They played ATP Cup in Sydney and won too. Duci is the most humble and nice person one can meet.
Novak was watching the final in Banja Luka and cheered Duci.
Here is what Novak said after losing to Duci:
https://youtu.be/rWPaFlASLpM
Duci was the one holding Serbian flag in his first match at AO after Nole was deported with a words:
“Like it or not
Novak is the GOAT”
Here is another one, Serbian DC team in 2021, funny interview, Duci sitting nex to Nole and teasing him, pretty funny, shows them all as ordinary blokes:
https://youtu.be/OKn9TVuS-UU
Lajovic in 2; Tiafoe in 2.