First crazy round!

It’s an ATP 500 first round that really makes you want to watch, but the match is scheduled for 5 a.m., French time!

It’s a direct rematch of their US Open match, where Auger-Aliassime had major physical issues and ultimately couldn’t really defend his chances. By default, it’s a match-up and an opponent the Canadian doesn’t particularly like; so, without being at the top of his form, he didn’t really have much chance of getting through. Since then, he’s been reassuring and has played two Davis Cup matches, which he won against dangerous profiles. A win over Rinderknech, then over Halys indoors, which is his best surface. Each time, he dropped a set, but I don’t find that especially worrying. He’s just struggling a bit on return, but he’s been very clean in every other area.

Now he’s going to have to back it up and start his Asian swing well, in a tournament and conditions that are not ideal for him. I’m expecting a lot more from him during the upcoming indoor season. This is a tournament that has historically been very successful for Khachanov, who has very solid results here and really likes these conditions and Asia in particular. The Russian rediscovered his tennis at the US Open and wants to try to ride that momentum to finish the year well. We know that in general he finishes seasons very strongly, with Bercy as a key target. Some players can feel the strain or run out of steam at the end of the year, but given his season, he’s still very fresh and, above all, extremely motivated.

It’ll take a bit more than one big tournament at the US Open to say that Khachanov is truly back. We know he plays well at the big Grand Slam events, but it’s at the smaller tournaments that he’s struggled this year. I still think his tennis is coming back and that we’re entering a part of the season where he excels. The match-up against Auger-Aliassime seems favorable for him in outdoor hard-court conditions. He can get enough returns in play and manage to make Auger-Aliassime crack from the baseline. The Canadian is still the real shot-caller in this match, because when he plays at his best level, he can beat almost anyone. But I don’t feel like this is the right opponent nor the right conditions for him to launch his tournament.