Australian Open 2022: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Dan Evans preview, head-to-head and prediction
Match Details
Fixture: [9] Felix Auger-Aliassime vs [24] Dan Evans.
Date: 22 January 2022.
Tournament: Australian Open.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: Melbourne Park.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Hard.
Prize Money: $75,000,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Dan Evans preview
Ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on 24th seed Dan Evans in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
The Canadian had a good 2021 season as he reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open. He also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and in the Cincinnati Masters last year.
Along with Denis Shapovalov, Auger-Aliassime played a significant role in Canada's sensational triumph in the 2022 ATP Cup. The 21-year-old beat the likes of Cameron Norrie and Alexander Zverev in his singles matches, and also won all but one of his doubles matches partnering Shapovalov.
Auger-Aliassime's exploits at the ATP Cup saw him reach a career-high ranking of World No. 9.
At the Australian Open, the 21-year-old survived a scare from Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori in five sets in the first round. He had to go through another tough encounter versus Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, which lasted four hours and 19 minutes. Auger-Aliassime eventually won 7-6 [4], [4] 6-7, 7-6 [5], 7-6 [4].
Felix Auger-Aliassime needed 4 hours and 19 minutes to book his spot in the third round, where he will face Dan Evans.
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Meanwhile, Evans began his 2022 season at the ATP Cup and won each of his singles matches against Jan-Lennard Struff, Shapovalov and John Isner. However, this was not enough to take Great Britain to the semifinals of the competition as they finished second in their group behind eventual champions Canada.
Evans then competed at the Sydney International as the third seed. He beat Pedro Martinez and Maxime Cressy in straight sets to qualify for the semifinals, where his opponent was top seed Aslan Karatsev. The 31-year-old put in a valiant effort but lost a thrilling contest 6-3, 6-7 [13], 6-3.
Evans is the 24th seed at the Australian Open and had little trouble beating David Goffin in the first round, dropping only seven games. The Englishman received a walkover to the third round as his second-round opponent Arthur Rinderknech withdrew due to a wrist injury.
Dan Evans progressed without hitting a ball after opponent Arthur Rinderknech withdrew with a wrist injury, while Heather Watson suffered defeat to Tamara Zidansek.
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Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Dan Evans head-to-head
Saturday's meeting at Melbourne Park will be the second between Auger-Aliassime and Evans. The two previously locked horns in the final of the 2021 Murray River Open in Melbourne. Evans won the match 6-2, 6-3 to win the first ATP title of his career.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Dan Evans prediction
Evans won only half his matches on hardcourt in 2021 but has an impressive record on the surface so far this year. The World No. 24 has won all but one of his hardcourt matches in 2022 and a couple of those victories have come against higher-ranked players.
Despite Auger-Aliassime having to grind in his first two matches of the tournament, he will be the favorite to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
The lanky Canadian served 28 aces against Davidovich Fokina and will be looking to do the same against Evans. The Brit, on the other hand, will rely heavily on his counter-attacking skills to neutralize his opponent's firepower.
Auger-Aliassime has an all-round game but will have to be cautious against making too many double faults. The World No. 9 has already served 13 double faults in the Australian Open so far and will need to reduce those errors.
Evans is a formidable opponent but Auger-Aliassime should be able to get the better of him and reach the fourth round of the competition.
Prediction: Felix Auger-Aliassime to win in four sets.