ATP Cup 2022: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Roberto Bautista Agut preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match Details

Fixture: (CAN) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs (ESP) Roberto Bautista Agut

Date: 9 January 2022

Tournament: ATP Cup 2022

Round: Final

Surface: Hard

Prize Money: $10,000,000

Match timing: Not before 7 pm local time, 8 am GMT, 1:30 pm IST

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Roberto Bautista Agut preview

Felix Auger-Aliassime at the 2022 ATP Cup.

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime is set to face off against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the second singles tie of the 2022 ATP Cup final.

In the semifinals, Denis Shapovalov won his singles match against Roman Safiullin to give Canada the lead, but Daniil Medvedev defeated Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-0 to level the proceedings. It all came down to the decisive doubles match, in which Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime beat Medvedev and Safiullin 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 to take Canada to their first ATP Cup final.

Auger-Aliassime and Team Canada started their 2022 ATP Cup campaign on a disappointing note, losing their first group tie 0-3 against the United States. But they turned things around in spectacular fashion to qualify for the semifinals by defeating Great Britain and Germany.

Auger-Aliassime notched wins over Cameron Norrie and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, with the latter being his first top-5 victim.

Roberto Baustista Agut at the 2022 ATP Cup.

Roberto Bautista Agut and Team Spain, meanwhile, have been completely dominant at the 2022 ATP Cup. This is the second time they have reached the final, having lost the first one in 2020 to Serbia.

Bautista Agut remained undefeated during the group stage of the 2022 ATP Cup, winning all three of his matches in straight sets. In the semifinals, he edged Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6 (5). Overall, the Spaniard has a 11-2 record at the ATP Cup across all three editions so far.

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Roberto Bautista Agut head-to-head

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Roberto Bautista Agut have played against each other thrice so far, with the Canadian leading 2-1 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 in the third round of the 2021 US Open.

Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Roberto Bautista Agut prediction

Felix Auger-Aliassime at the 2021 Wimbledon.

While Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a crushing loss in the semifinals, Roberto Bautista Agut held his nerve to win a three-set thriller.

The Canadian will need to regroup quickly after his latest loss and rise to the occasion. Auger-Aliassime has an attacking game, backed by a pretty reliable serve and a powerful forehand.

However, the 21-year-old's game is prone to breaking down under pressure, leading to a high number of unforced errors. Having lost all eight of his previous ATP finals, the youngster indeed has a stern test waiting for him.

Bautista Agut, meanwhile, is mainly a defensive player who uses his speed around the court and counterpunching style to win points. That said, the 33-year-old is capable of playing offensively when presented with the opportunity.

Given their contrasting recent results and overall form throughout the tournament, the Spaniard has a slight edge going into this encounter.

Prediction: Roberto Bautista Agut to win in two tight sets.

Also Check Out: Updated ATP Cup 2022 Results

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for four years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee