Just two men remain in contention at the Marseille Open, with what promises to be a thrilling final on the cards as defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on the in-form Felix Auger-Aliassime. But who will get their hands on the coveted trophy in southern France?
Marseille Open Final Prediction
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Head-to-head: Auger-Aliassime 2-1 Tsitsipas
Both men arrive into the final in fine form. Auger-Aliassime, who last year reached the final at the Rotterdam Open (lost to Gael Monfils), has continued to impress in Marseille. He opened his campaign by saving two match points against Stefano Travaglia, before pulling off another miraculous escape to edge past Pierre-Hugues Herbert, having saved three match points. In the quarterfinals, he proved too strong for Egor Gerasimov, before beating Gilles Simon, 7-5 7-6, to reach the final.
Tsitsipas passage through the draw has not been quite so dramatic, but he has been tested at times. After a first-round bye, he thrashed Mikael Ymer for the loss of just four games and backed that win up by accounting for the in-form Vasek Pospisil, beating the Canadian 7-5 6-3. He then secured his place in the Marseille Open final for the second consecutive year by beating former-champion Alexander Bublik, who had hammered top seed Daniil Medvedev in the last eight, beating the Kazakh 7-5 6-3.
With Tsitsipas having spent significantly less time on court than Auger-Aliassime, who also did not have much time to recover from his exploits in Rotterdam. Fatigue could be a factor as a result, although it would be a surprise to see Tsitsipas look to consistently lengthen the rallies. But if the Canadian is lacking any of his natural explosiveness, against Tsitsipas in this kind of form, with the Greek’s serve having been particularly impressive in Marseille, it is hard to see him finding a path to victory.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
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