Teenager Holger Rune continues his breakout year that has seen him skyrocket from outside of the top-100 at the end of last year to inside the top-20. He has captured two titles so far this year, including last week in Stockholm. Felix Auger-Aliassime finally got over his finals woes, winning three titles in four finals in 2022, after losing his first eight finals in straight sets. Both players have been dominant this week at the ATP Basel Indoors and have more than earned their spot in the final. As always, we here at LWOT are offering our prediction for the final, but who will come out on top?
ATP Basel Final Prediction
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Holger Rune
Head-to-head: first meeting
This final will be an exciting one between two top players both coming off titles last week. Auger-Aliassime has won two consecutive titles and is riding a 12 match win streak into the final. He has dropped just three sets in that span. This week, he has improved as the tournament has gone on, highlighted by an incredible 6-3 6-2 victory over world #1 Carlos Alcaraz. Rune is trying to win his tenth match in a row and has also been dominant in Basel, making the final without dropping a set.
Rune is not necessarily known for a big serve, but he has served well and not been broken all week, despite facing 11 break points. Auger-Aliassime has not been broken either, and has only seen one break point against him all competition. The match will be full of big serves and big groundstrokes between two players who enjoy the fast indoor hard court. Rune first made a name for himself on clay but has reached his third final on indoor hard in the month of October. Auger-Aliassime has always played best on fast surfaces between grass and indoor hard courts.
While Rune has yet to drop a set, he has played a few tiebreaks and not been as strong on return as the Canadian. Auger-Aliassime looks locked in recently and is finally establishing himself as one of the top players in the world. He will come out firing early and try to overpower Rune with power on power. Rune will be able to get one set via tiebreak, but Auger-Aliassime will be locked in and is just too good right now and will win his third straight title.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 3
Main photo:
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