The young Felix Auger Aliassime (22), and Holger Rune (19), respectively winners of Carlos Alcaraz, 6-3, 6-2, and Roberto Bautista, 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (8 /6) on Saturday in the semi-finals, have an appointment in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel on Sunday.
Titled in Florence and Antwerp, Auger-Aliassime beat the world number 1 to qualify for his third final in three weeks.
Against the Spaniard, the Canadian (9th in the world) has extended his series of successes on the circuit to 12 matches in recent weeks and has the opportunity to win a fourth trophy in five finals this season.
The Montreal native has offered himself for the third time in as many confrontations the winner of the US Open (19), but Alcaraz is the first player in the top 20 he beats during his recent series of successes.
Impregnable on his service (9 aces) and offensive, Auger-Aliassime is better back in the game. Author of 23 winning strokes for 9 unforced errors, the Canadian was more rewarded than his opponent for his risk taking.
Alcaraz got his first and only break point in the Canadian’s last service game. The latter saved her before winning the match two points later.
Like his future opponent, Rune (25th) was not broken during this week in Basel but he was not sovereign on his service games against Bautista (22nd). The Dane above all showed composure to save the Spaniard’s seven break points and win the two decisive games, including the second, during which he erased four opposing set points.
Patrick Mouratoglou’s protege is riding an interesting streak: 13 wins in his last 14 matches and three finals in his last three tournaments, including a victory in Stockholm against Stefanos Tsitsipas last weekend.
Rune had, on the other hand, lost in the final in Sofia at the beginning of October. Like Auger-Aliassime, his attacking style sticks to the playing conditions of indoor hard courts.
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