Rotterdam R1 previews and predictions: Auger-Aliassime vs. Nishikori, Haase vs. Murray

An intriguing first-round showdown in Rotterdam pits Felix Auger-Aliassime against Kei Nishikori on Monday. Meanwhile, Andy Murray is facing Robin Haase in an all-wild card affair.

Kei Nishikori vs. (7) Felix Auger-Aliassime

Nishikori will be looking for his first win since round one of the 2020 French Open when he takes the court at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Monday afternoon. Injuries have continued to be a problem for the 31-year-old from Japan, who is struggling down at 45th in the rankings. So far this season he has lost to Daniil Medvedev and Diego Schwartzman at the ATP Cup and to Pablo Carreno Busta at the Australian Open.

Up first for Nishikori in Rotterdam is Auger-Aliassime, who dropped their only previous meeting 6-1, 6-3 two years ago in Barcelona. However, the 20-year-old Canadian is a much different player now and he has produced far better results on hard courts than on clay. Auger-Aliassime is already an impressive season 7-2 in 2021. As the 2020 runner-up in Rotterdam, he will take a ton of confidence with him into this battle against a vulnerable opponent.

Pick: Auger-Aliassime in 2

(WC) Robin Haase vs. (WC) Andy Murray

Murray and Haase will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they meet again on Monday night. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in Murray’s favor, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. He survived a pair of wild U.S. Open encounters (in five sets in 2011 and in four in 2014), while it should be noted that Haase’s lone victory has come at this same Rotterdam tournament in 2008 (via a 7-5, 6-3 decision).

Obviously that result is no longer relevant 13 years later, but Haase is obviously confident on his home court. He is a two-time quarterfinalist and he pushed Roger Federer to three sets at that stage in 2018. The 33-year-old Dutchman certainly isn’t in great form, but he at least managed to qualify for the Australian Open. Murray did not look good at all in the recent Biella Challenger final nor during a Montpellier first-round loss to Egor Gerasimov. This is a good opportunity for Haase to pick up his second win over Murray in the exact same spot.

Pick: Haase in 3