They're really going at it!

Tiafoe has been seriously good on grass since the start of the swing, and Auger-Aliassime is coming off a big win serving absolute rockets. I'm expecting a lot from this match.

Tiafoe keeps cruising along nicely in this Stuttgart tournament. He hasn’t dropped a set yet, even though he was down a break in the second set against Shima Bukuro. He’s really well set up on court, I love what he’s producing at the moment and his attitude is good too. We’ve got a really solid Tiafoe, but I always come back to the same issue with him on grass: his poor return quality. He knows how to be ultra-aggressive on second serve and do a lot of damage. On the other hand, on first serve, he’s very often completely out of it. That’s obviously my big negative point in this match. Especially when I see how well Auger-Aliassime served against Tien and how dialed in he is. In open play, Tiafoe is probably better or not far off. But the gap in serve quality could have an impact on this match.

22 aces for Auger-Aliassime in that previous match, and only one break conceded off a poorly played service game. But it’s clear that 95% of the time, his service games are extremely easy and quick. He’s really serving way too well, and then capitalizing with his forehand. On the other hand, returning is tricky for him too, and even against an opponent who isn’t exactly a huge server, he didn’t get as many chances as I thought he would. Tiafoe is also capable of serving very well, but often with a lower first-serve percentage. And as I said, that can make the difference at the end of sets, in tie-breaks. In that kind of scenario, for me, Félix should clearly be the stronger one. He leads the head-to-head 3–0. The matches, statistically speaking, lean his way, with consistently very comfortable performances on his service games. I’ll be clear: I think there’s a real chance he doesn’t get broken at all in this match if he serves well, but there also won’t be many chances for him on return either.