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Match Details
Fixture: (3) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs (Q) Carlos Taberner.
Date: 20 April 2022.
Tournament: Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell 2022.
Round: Second Round (Round of 32).
Venue: Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €2,661,825.
Match timing: Not before 12:30 pm local time, 6:30 am ET, 10:30 am GMT and 4:00 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Carlos Taberner preview
After an opening-round bye, third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will take on qualifier Carlos Taberner in the second round of the 2022 Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
After starting the year strongly, Auger-Aliassime has been going through a rough patch over the last few weeks. He failed to score a win at the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami. The Canadian defeated Elliot Benchetrit, who's ranked outside the top 400, in his opener in Marrakech, but lost to Alex Molcan in the second round after squandering match points.
Auger-Aliassime received a bye into the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he faced Lorenzo Musetti. He lost in straight sets to the Italian.
The World No. 9 will be aiming to return to winning ways in Barcelona.
Carlos Taberner's best results this year on the ATP tour have been second-round appearances at the Cordoba Open, Chile Open and the Grand Prix Hassan. In between, he won a Challenger event in Italy. At last week's Monte Carlo Masters, he lost in the qualifying rounds.
Taberner booked his place in the main draw of the Barcelona Open by winning both of his qualifying matches in commanding fashion. He defeated Maxime Janvier and Hugo Grenier 6-2, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-1 respectively.
He then took on Sebastian Korda in the first round of the main draw.
Taberner defeated the higher-ranked American 6-3, 6-0 to score his first win over a player ranked in the top 40.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Carlos Taberner head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Carlos Taberner odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Carlos Taberner prediction
Auger-Aliassime has historically struggled on claycourt. Since 2020, he has posted a 6-11 record on the surface. The Canadian isn't a complete novice on the red dirt, having reached his first two career finals on the surface in 2019. However, he hasn't found much success on the surface over the past couple of years.
Taberner, on the other hand, is a player who specializes on claycourt. The Spaniard has been completely dominant in Barcelona so far, not dropping more than three games across his qualifying and main-draw matches.
Auger-Aliassime's game is more suited to faster surfaces and he's struggled to adapt to clay. In his last match against Musetti, his serve was decent, but his shots lacked depth and power. The World No. 9 didn't mix things up tactically, allowing his opponent to remain in control.
Taberner might not have the strongest groundstrokes but he's a decent mover and likes to play long rallies and defend from behind the court. He can trouble Auger-Aliassime from the baseline
Auger-Aliassime is a superior player overall, so it's possible he'll find his form and start playing well again. If the Canadian brings his best tennis, he might just be able to scrape a win.
Pick: Felix Auger-Aliassime to win in three sets.
