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A great player who has mostly looked great this week. Alcaraz has dropped one set in three matches. On Thursday, with a chance to seal the year-end No. 1, he ran away from Lorenzo Musetti. Now he’ll come in to the semifinals after a day of rest, while Auger-Aliassime will have to make a 24-hour turnaround.
Their relative rankings and recent head-to-head aside, though, Auger-Aliassime has a game that can threaten Alcaraz in these conditions. He’s an excellent indoor player, whose serve improves in the controlled environment. He also likes to stand in, run around to hit forehands, and attack whenever possible. If Auger-Aliassime can get on top of rallies, Alcaraz won’t be able to dictate as much as he likes, which can frustrate him.
That’s obviously a big if, and would likely require FAA to take on more risk than usual. But if there’s a match when he can handle that risk, it might be this one. He’ll be playing with nothing to lose, on a court that is better suited to his game than his opponent’s. Auger-Aliassime has spent the last couple of months going after the ball, feeling good about his game, raising his ranking, and finding a way to win close matches. He’s in the winning habit at the moment.
