Two-time defending Swiss Indoors champion Felix Auger-Aliassime begins the defence of his title against Sebastian Baez on Wednesday.
Their first-round encounter is a rematch of last month's Davis Cup clash, where the Canadian comfortably defeated the Argentine player.
Match preview
Auger-Aliassime's bid for a third consecutive triumph in Basel begins on Wednesday, as the five-time ATP champion takes to the court against Baez.
Last year, the Canadian joined Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, Stefan Edberg and Ivan Lendl as the only players to notch consecutive victories at the event.
Only Federer managed three titles on the trot — a feat the 20-time Grand Slam champion achieved twice in his home tournament — and the world No. 19 aims to emulate the Swiss great this week.
First, the eighth seed must overcome his Argentine opponent and an indifferent sequence of results coming into the tournament, underscored by early exits in Tokyo, Shanghai and recently in Antwerp.
However, preceding Auger-Aliassime's ongoing bad run were impressive Davis Cup group-stage victories, including one against Baez, who seeks to outdo the 24-year-old this time.
The 23-year-old aims to stun the higher-ranked player in Basel, keen to improve results outside his favourite clay-court surface.
Although Baez holds a decent 26-11 record on the dirt in 2024, he comes into this tournament with a 0-3 record on grass, 5-11 on hard courts and 0-2 in indoor events.
With both titles this season in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago coming on clay and five of his six ATP Tour triumphs on the dirt, Baez enters Wednesday with a point to prove.
The world No. 26's sole title success away from his favourite surface came last year on hard courts in Winston-Salem, showing the player's competence when it all comes together.
However, a four-match losing streak since defeating Luciano Darderi at the US Open undermines the Argentine's prospects against the Basel title holder.
Head To Head
Davis Cup (2024) - Round Robin: Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3
The players' only matchup on the ATP Tour was last month's Davis Cup clash, which the Canadian claimed in straight sets in under 90 minutes.
Although Auger-Aliassime holds a mixed 14-14 record on hard courts in 2024, his 8-4 record in indoor events this year favours him over Baez.
Furthermore, the defending champion's 10-match winning run in Basel undoubtedly gives him the edge over the Argentine.
We say: Auger-Aliassime to win in two sets
Only two players have taken a set off Auger-Aliassime in the 2022 and 2023 events — Marc-Andrea Huesler two years ago and Alexander Shevchenko 12 months back — and the Canadian will back himself to notch another two-set victory over Baez and extend the Argentine's losing streak to five without success.
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