Match Details
Fixture: (8) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs (Q) Marcos Giron
Date: October 20, 2023
Tournament: Japan Open Tennis Championships 2023
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,013,940
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Marcos Giron preview
Eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will take on qualifier Marcos Giron in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open on Friday.
The Canadian started the ATP 500 event against Australia's Aleksandar Vukic. He beat him 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(2) to reach the Round of 16, where he faced Austrian Sebastian Ofner.
The two players exchanged breaks in the first two games of the match and Auger-Aliassime broke Ofner's serve in the final game to take the first set 6-4. The second set saw the Austrian break in the very first game before the Canadian won the next five games to win 6-1 and book his place in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open.
Giron, meanwhile, qualified for the main draw of the Japan Open with straight-set wins over two Japanese players, Kaichi Uchida and Yasutaka Nakayama. The American started the main draw against another local boy in Yosuke Watanuki whom he beat 7-6(6), 6-3 to set up a second-round match against Casper Ruud.
Giron made the first break of the match in the third game and made another one in the final game to take the opening set 6-3. Ruud started the second set well as he broke the American's serve early.
However, Giron broke him back and had another break of serve to register a 6-3, 6-4 win and reach the quarterfinals of the Japan Open.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Marcos Giron head-to-head
Auger-Aliassime leads 3-0 in the head-to-head against Giron. The last meeting between the two came in the first round of the Halle Open, with the Canadian winning 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Marcos Giron odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Marcos Giron prediction
Auger-Aliassime will enter the match as the favorite to win but Giron will be in good spirits after reaching the quarterfinals.
The Canadian is a pretty good server, with 18 aces in his two matches so far in Tokyo. He has won 79 out of 107 points (73.8%) on his first serve. However, he has also served 10 double faults and will have to be careful not to serve too many of those.
Auger-Aliassime has powerful groundstrokes, particularly his forehand, as well as good on-court movement. However, he cannot afford to hit too many unforced errors, especially now that he looks to be bouncing back following a disappointing run of form.
Giron has been very solid on his first serve so far in Tokyo, winning 88 out of 110 points (80%) on it, with 22 aces to his name. The American will look to dominate his service games while trying to make the odd decisive break that could turn the sets in his favor. Despite his opponent's patchy run of form in 2023, Giron will have to bring up his best performance if he is to come out on top.
Auger-Aliassime has looked good so far in Tokyo and if he can maintain his composure, he should be able to win the match and book his place in the semifinals.
Pick: Auger-Aliassime to win in straight sets.