The up-and-coming player up against a resurgent Stan

FAA has everything it takes to prevail despite the surprising solidity of the Swiss veteran.

Félix Auger-Aliassime goes into this match against Stan Wawrinka as the logical favorite, especially on indoor hard court. As the defending champion in Montpellier, the Canadian returns to the Hérault region really looking to kickstart his season after a spell of doubt, notably marked by a retirement at the Australian Open; above all, he’s still a player who has already won here and has shown that he can handle the specific conditions of this tournament well.

His retirement at the AO was due to cramps, and he said that everything is fine now and that he’s been able to train well without any issues since then.

On paper, **Auger-Aliassime clearly has the edge**: higher ranked (Top 10 in the world), younger and more consistent this season, he has powerful shots and an ability to dictate play on hard courts that often makes the difference in longer rallies.

Stan Wawrinka, for his part, comes into this match with a more atypical profile, with his 40 years of age and his titanic past. He’s come back in very good form this year. Yesterday he once again produced a solid win against Medjedovic despite a very, very low first-serve percentage. That shows a still-competitive level of play despite his 40 years, but he’ll need to serve much, much better to have a chance against FAA today.

That said, experience alone won’t be enough without high-level consistency in the rallies and an ability to stay in the point against Auger-Aliassime’s power and movement. The Canadian’s playing style – aggressive, able to dictate the tempo with his first serve and exploit openings – is perfectly suited to the conditions here. His indoor record is also historically convincing, which further strengthens the case for a win here.

If FAA is at his level, I don’t see many favorable outcomes for Stan, but the Canadian has already accustomed us to tricky starts, and the result of this match will largely depend on which version of the Canadian shows up.