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Match Details
Fixture: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs (Q) Aleksandar Kovacevic
Date: August 14, 2024
Tournament: Cincinnati Open
Round: First Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Lindner Family Tennis Center, Mason, Ohio, US
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $6,795,555
Live Telecast: US - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Aleksandar Kovacevic preview
World No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime will take on qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the Cincinnati Open 2024.
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After modest success on hardcourts during the first three months of the season, Auger-Aliassime found his groove on clay. He made the quarterfinals in Munich and then reached his first Masters final at the Madrid Open. He led Andrey Rublev by a set in the summit clash but lost the contest in three sets.
Auger-Aliassime advanced to the fourth round of the French Open, going down to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. After failing to win a match on grass, he returned to compete on clay once again. He reached the quarterfinals in Gstaad before participating in the Paris Olympics.
The 24-year-old was beaten by Alcaraz in the singles semifinals and lost the bronze medal play-off match against Lorenzo Musetti. He didn't leave empty-handed though, and captured the bronze medal in mixed doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski. He was knocked out by Flavio Cobolli in the first round of last week's Canadian Open upon his return to hardcourts.
Kovacevic had to go through the qualifying rounds to secure his place in the main draw of the Cincinnati Open. He rallied from a set down to beat Pedro Martinez 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the first qualifier. The American then scored a 6-1, 7-6 (5) win over Rinky Hijikata to move into the main draw.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Aleksandar Kovacevic head-to-head
This will be the first career meeting between the two, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Aleksandar Kovacevic odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Aleksandar Kovacevic prediction
Auger-Aliassime's transition to hardcourts wasn't successful as he fell at the first hurdle in Montreal last week. He wasn't the only one as quite a few top players, including Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz, struggled to get going quickly after the Paris Olympics.
Kovacevic has underperformed the entire season and has a 9-16 record for the year when it comes to main draw matches. Six of his nine victories this year have come on hardcourts. However, the American has only one main draw win to his name at the Masters level, which came at last year's Miami Open.
Auger-Aliassime has a rather poor record on hardcourts this year, going 8-9 on the surface thus far. However, even with the Canadian's own disappointing results on the surface, he should be able to get the better of an out-of-form Kovacevic to advance further.
Pick: Felix Auger-Aliassime to win in straight sets.
