Felix Auger-Aliassime (6) meets Thiago Monteiro in the first round of the 2021 Championships on Tuesday, June 29th 2021.
Will we see another tight battle between these two players who played so well against each other at the US Open in 2020 or will Felix Auger-Aliassime be able to use his strong form to get an easier win under his belt early here in London?
Thiago Monteiro is not very well known on the ATP Tour, but he is a very tough opponent to come up against, especially in smaller ATP 250 tournaments where he mainly competed. Thiago is a hard hitter with some great shots in his repertoire. However, he meets one of the most in form players on grass this year in Felix, so he will need to be even better than he was in their last meeting as we all know Felix is. Can the Brazilian come out here and cause the upset early on to make a big statement?
Felix Auger-Aliassime has been in good form on grass, having beaten the likes of Roger Federer. However, Felix needs to find consistency and the mentality when it comes to the later stages of tournaments. We all know that Felix has the game to win titles and compete with big names, but he also is known for chocking in important matches and in important moments. I expect for him to want to make a bigger name for himself here at Wimbledon, but he needs to come through a tough opponent in Thiago Monteiro in the first round.
This is going to be the 2nd meeting between both players, with Felix having won their only prior encounter. They had such a tight match when they last met, and many would expect the same here. However, since that meeting, Felix has improved even more, and on grass he has found his best tennis. I expect for this match to not be a 4 or 5 setter, but I rather expect for the young Canadian to be able to get an easy win under his belt early to give him confidence for the later rounds.