Up-and-coming Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime face tough openers at Queen’s Club on Tuesday. Shapovalov is going up against Juan Martin Del Potro, while Auger-Aliassime faces Grigor Dimitrov.
(3) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Denis Shapovalov
Del Potro and Shapovalov will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Fever-Tree Championships on Tuesday afternoon. The head-to-head series is tied up at one win apiece, with Shapovalov prevailing 6-3, 7-6(4) at the 2017 Rogers Cup before Del Potro got the job done 6-2, 6-4 last year in Auckland.
Shapovalov is especially in need of some success prior to Wimbledon, as he has been in a significant slump since reaching the Miami semifinals. The 25th-ranked Canadian is 2-7 overall in his last seven tournaments, with three first-round losses during this stretch coming at the hands of Jan-Lennard Struff. Del Potro has won multiple matches at three of his four events in 2019, including a recent fourth-round performance at the French Open. Although the 12th-ranked Argentine has never reached an ATP final on grass, he has enjoyed plenty of success at Wimbledon and he will likely have too much firepower for a struggling opponent.
Pick: Del Potro in 2
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Grigor Dimitrov vs. (8) Felix Auger-Aliassime
After reaching the Lyon final, Auger-Aliassime ended up missing the French Open due to a leg injury. The 18-year-old will not want to overdo it prior to Wimbledon, but his workload remains heavy–albeit for the good reason of frequent winning. Auger-Aliassime got right back in gear to advance all the way to last week’s Stuttgart title match in his first-ever pro event on grass. The world No. 21 impressed in wins over Ernests Gulbis, Gilles Simon, and Dustin Brown, but he fell to 0-3 lifetime in finals by losing to Matteo Berrettini on Sunday.
Auger-Aliassime will be making a quick turnaround to meet Dimitrov for the first time on Tuesday evening. The 28-year-old Bulgarian has tumbled to 45th in the rankings, a shadow of the player that won the Nitto ATP Finals in 2017. He at least showed some encouraging signs at Roland Garros, surviving five-setters against Janko Tipsarevic and Marin Cilic before succumbing to Stan Wawrinka 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 7-6(8). Dimitrov has plenty of experience on grass and he may be able to take advantage of an opponent who has to be fatigued.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
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Del Po and Dimitrov in 3
Delpo and Dimitrov in 3
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