Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Marcos Giron: 2023 Japan Open Tokyo - Preview & Prediction

Felix Auger-Aliassime is playing really solid tennis at the 2023 Japan Open this week; however, his opponent, Marcos Giron, is doing the same thing.

So the question is, who will win this match? It's an interesting one because historically Auger-Aliassime has dominated matchups like these easily. On one side we have Giron who is an all-around solid player though without any clear weapons.

Yes, the serve is very precise and is at the centre of everything that he does; however, the forehand and backhand aren't something that will strike fear. He's solid from both sides, though, and much of what he does well is just being super solid every match.

You'd be surprised how far you can go by just being very solid every match, and he's the perfect example of that. On the other side, we have Auger-Aliassime, a superb player with tremendous talent but very volatile form. It's really hard to describe the stark difference in levels the Canadian can produce, but winning 64 matches last year and only 18 this year should do the trick.

Read also

Sabalenka And Swiatek Set To Avoid Group Stage Encounter As WTA Finals Pots Announced

Head-to-head:

Even so, he's looked a bit better lately, which this run at the Japan Open proves. His win over Sebastian Ofner is the first back-to-back win he's had since March of this year, and he'll hope to keep it going against Giron, a player he never lost to on the ATP Tour.

They played three times so far, and Auger-Aliassime won all three of their matches. The most recent one was last year in Halle which the Canadian won in three sets, and this one looks likely to go that way.

Prediction:

It's unlikely that either player can really win in two sets because I do think they're pretty close in level. Giron doesn't have huge weapons but he has good enough weapons to make it interesting if Auger-Aliassime plays below his best.

Something similar to the level he showed against Ofner should do the trick, but we haven't seen it often this year, and I'm sceptical it will happen again, but I'll side with the Canadian.

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

Read also

Coco Gauff Releases Emotional Statement Amid War In Israel