We take a look at the selected round of 32 matches from the ATP Tour’s Fever-Tree Championship taking place on Tuesday 18 June 2019.
ATP Tour 2019 | ATP 500 Series
Fever-Tree Championship (Queen’s Tournament)
The Queen’s Club, London, United Kingdom
Selected Round of 32 Matches – 18 June 2019
Grigor Dimitrov (13/20)
vs Felix Aguer-Aliassime (23/20)
The downfall of Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov has been a depressing chapter of the ATP narrative in recent years. He was very much the incumbent successor to the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic dynasty in late 2017. He had captured the 2017 Masters 1000 title in Canada and won the season-ending event in London. But the last year and a half have been unkind to Dimitrov. Injury issues and a drastic loss in form have seen ‘Baby Fed’ being surpassed by the likes of Zverev and Tsitsipas. He has been struggling with a shoulder injury of late, and a quarterfinal in Brisbane was his best showing this year. But a third-round performance of some stature against Stan Wawrinka in Paris highlighted his undoubted ability. The 2014 Wimbledon semi-finalist will be looking to reignite his season on the grass courts. He won this event in 2014 and thus may find some solace during this period of the season.
18-year-old Canadian sensation Felix Auger-Aliassime is on the opposite end of the momentum spectrum to Grigor Dimitrov. While he states that his favourite surface is clay, he made quite a big impact in Stuttgart last week. He won his first match on grass and went onto reach the final. Remarkably it was his third final this season after Rio and Lyon. But it was his herculean semi-final run in Miami that really brought him to the attention of the world. In his brief career, he has already shown commendable all-court proficiency. The lanky lad has a powerful serve and he volleys well. He has all the makings of a grass-court specialist and this should be a fascinating clash of forehand supremacy.
This will unsurprisingly be their first ever meeting. The Canadian has the momentum though Dimitrov will still be the player under intense scrutiny. It’s really a dream scenario for Felix-Aliassime. But I was certainly encouraged by Dimitrov’s form in Paris. He pushed a rejuvenated Wawrinka in three brilliant sets of tennis. But at that price, you have to fancy the form player at 23/20.
Adrian Mannarino (16/10)
vs Nick Kyrgios (9/20)
This should be a fascinating encounter between two players who are equally comfortable on grass. That being said, these two couldn’t be more different in style and temperament. Frenchman Mannarino is the ultimate throwback player. He lacks genuine power on both sides, making up for it with court-craft and defensive capabilities. He had endured a devastating season up until last week’s Rosmalen event, being eliminated from ten events in the opening round. But the switch to grass did the trick for this consummate grass-court specialist. He sensationally won the Roslamen event, beating the likes of Coric and Goffin the process. He reached the quarterfinals here last season, with eventual Wimbledon Champion Novak Djokovic accounting for the Frenchman.
Nick Kyrgios is really the polar opposite to the crafty French lefty. He is a tall player who really relies on power at his best. His serve and forehand are his chief weapons of choice when the mood to win arises. But Kyrgios’ notoriously fickle demeanour makes him uniquely difficult to predict. He endured a shocking clay-court campaign that was shrouded in further controversy. But the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinalist has publicly insisted that the grass should bring out the best in him. He reached the semi-finals here last season in a match remembered for a typically corrosive Kyrgios outburst. He won in Mexico earlier this season and will be looking to build some consistency during what should be his best period of the year.
This will be the first-ever meeting between these polar opposites. Obviously, Kyrgios is the man with the weapons at his disposal to beat anyone. But Mannarino is coming off a grass-court title and his brand of chip and charge tennis could frustrate Kyrgios immensely. Mannarino attempts to put players off their rhythm with off-speed shots and unique angles. If he is able to disrupt Kyrgios’ rhythm early, I can quite easily see the Frenchman emerging victorious.
