Firenze Open 2022: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Oscar Otte preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Oscar Otte.
Date: October 13, 2022.
Tournament: Firenze Open 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 16).
Venue: Firenze, Italy.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $612,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Oscar Otte preview
Following a first-round bye, top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will square off against World No. 55 Oscar Otte in the second round of the 2022 Firenze Open on Thursday.
Auger-Aliassime's season has been rather good so far. He led Canada to the ATP Cup title and made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. He won his maiden career title at the Rotterdam Open and finished as the runner-up in Marseille the following week.
The Canadian went through a rough patch with early exits from the Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo. Auger-Aliassime's next few results were quite consistent, with quarterfinal finishes in Barcelona, Estoril, Madrid and Rome. He capped off the clay season with a third-round exit from the French Open.
Despite a solid start to the grass swing, he lost in the first round of Wimbledon. Auger-Aliassime performed quite well in the lead-up to the US Open, making at least the last eight in the three events he competed in. However, he lost in the second round of the US Open.
The Canadian scored some impressive wins after his loss in New York. He defeated World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Davis Cup, followed by a win over Novak Djokovic at the Laver Cup. Auger-Aliassime competed in last week's Astana Open, but lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round.
Oscar Otte was up against Marton Fucsovics in the first round of the Firenze Open. The German dropped his serve in the very first game of the match and was later broken while serving to stay in the set, handing the opener to his opponent.
The two were evenly matched for most of the second set, until Otte upped his level and bagged three straight games to take the set. The German continued the momentum in the final set, securing an early break to lead 3-1.
Fucsovics was unable to make any inroads at this point. Following a hold of serve by the Hungarian, Otte claimed the next three games to win the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Oscar Otte head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Oscar Otte odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Oscar Otte prediction
Auger-Aliassime has had some tough losses this year, but has bounced back stronger every time. He was outplayed by Bautista Agut last week, but put up a decent fight even though he came up short in the end.
Otte played quite well against Fucsovics in the previous round. He served at a good level and was quite clutch on break points (3/3). He'll need to display similar tenacity against the Canadian.
At his best, Auger-Aliassime shouldn't have any issues handling Otte's game. He is the better server and shotmaker in this match-up. However, he's known to crumble under pressure at times. He's also fighting for a place in the ATP Finals. But with just three spots remaining, he needs a good result here to stay in contention.
It all comes down to how well Auger-Aliassime is able to handle the moment. With the year he has had so far, he's the favorite against Otte and should be able to overcome any challenges posed by him.
Pick: Felix Auger-Aliassime to win in three sets.