Rotterdam 2021: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Kei Nishikori preview, head-to-head & prediction | ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

Match details

Fixture: (7) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Kei Nishikori

Date: 1 March 2021

Tournament: ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament 2021

Round: First round (Round of 32)

Venue: Rotterdam, Netherlands

Category: ATP 500

Surface: Indoor hardcourt

Prize money: €980,580

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six / Sony Liv

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Kei Nishikori preview

2020 finalist and seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on Kei Nishikori in the first round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

Auger-Aliassime had a decent start to the 2021 season in Melbourne, with a couple of good runs alternating with a couple of demoralizing defeats. The Canadian reached the summit clash in the Melbourne tune-up event, where he lost to Dan Evans - his seventh consecutive reverse in a tournament final.

Auger-Aliassime then went on to beat Denis Shapovalov at the Australian Open, before bowing out to qualifier Aslan Karatsev in the fourth round. The 20-year-old will be looking to mount a title challenge in Rotterdam this year, but standing in his way is a talented veteran in the very first round.

Kei Nishikori

Having suffered a series of injury problems in recent times, Kei Nishikori is not the same player he was a few years ago. The Japanese comes into Rotterdam ranked 41st in the world, having lost all three of his matches in 2021 so far.

Prior to this tournament, Nishikori dropped out of the ATP Cup with Japan after successive defeats against Daniil Medvedev and Diego Schwartzman. He then lost in the first round of the Australian Open, to Pablo Carreno Busta.

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Kei Nishikori head-to-head

The first round encounter in Rotterdam is the second professional meeting on tour between the two plateyers. Kei Nishikori currently leads the head-to-head 1-0 over Felix Auger-Aliassime, having defeated the Canadian at Barcelona in 2019.

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Kei Nishikori prediction

Despite Kei Nishikori's previous history on tour, Felix Auger-Aliassime comes into the first round encounter as the overwhelming favorite given his superior ranking and form.

The Canadian possesses a well-rounded baseline game and an attacking style of play that is well-suited to quick hardcourts such as the one in Rotterdam. His return of serve is good enough to punish any serving slip-ups by his opponent.

Felix Auger-Aliassime

On the other hand, Kei Nishikori's legendary foot speed and counterpunching skills have rightly earned him the title of Asia's greatest male singles player ever. And despite the recent injuries, the 31-year-old showed glimses of his old self during his five-set win over Dan Evans at Roland Garros 2020.

But given that he is short on form and match practice, the Auger-Aliassime challenge might be too steep a hurdle for Nishikori to overcome at the moment.

Prediction: Felix Auger-Aliassime to win in straight sets.