A real good round of 16

This kind of match can reach a very high level of play if they’re in good form, I believe it!

Auger is keeping his nice little season going and wants to validate all that on clay. Historically, Monte Carlo has really not been great for him at all, and I had the same impression again today against Cilic, where he didn’t seem very dangerous. It was a first round against the experienced Cilic, so it makes sense that it wasn’t perfect, but he’s going to have to raise his level right away because he’s facing Ruud, who is quite simply one of the best clay-courters in the world.

The Norwegian is always waiting for the clay-court season to play for titles. I can’t say he’s having a huge season so far, but it’s decent, and he’s only lost to players with tricky matchups for him on fast surfaces too. I’m quite hopeful he’ll be in good shape on clay when it’s slower and he can dictate with his forehand. He actually wants to step up on this surface by playing more aggressively; the match against Moutet is the perfect example of that! He’s putting even more weight on his forehand and doesn’t hesitate to take risks on his backhand. I’ve got a really good feeling about him at the start of this tournament. He’s just beaten Popyrin and Moutet on Court des Princes, he’ll be out there again tomorrow, and it’s more on Felix to adapt, with only one match under his belt.

Historically, it’s been tight: 5–4 FAA with a few wins on clay, nothing clearly in favor of either one. I think it mostly depends on their level at that exact moment!