Auger-Aliassime, before his match with Sinner, said the upside of facing the world No. 1 right out of the gate is that his confidence wouldn’t be shaken by a defeat.
“I start the tournament with the toughest challenge, which is interesting in a way because I think winning a match like this one would kind of give you confidence that you can go very far in this tournament,” he said. “If it doesn’t go your way, it doesn’t.”
Now that the test drives are over, the rubber meets the road for real for both guys in match two. The winner stays in semifinal contention; the loser, at 0-2, will be in desperation mode.
Shelton and Auger-Aliassime have played once, at Roland Garros last year, and the Canadian won in three not-very-competitive sets. They should be more evenly matched on an indoor hard court. Their serves will obviously be key, and the result may be decided by just a few points.
Shelton said he was happy with his backhand in his opener, and he’ll need it again on Wednesday. Auger-Aliassime loves the sliding serve into that side. From the ground, Auger-Aliassime is probably the more solid of the two, but Shelton’s forehand will be the biggest baseline weapon.
I’ll say Auger-Aliassime will be just a little more ready to play his best.
The Pick: Auger-Aliassime
