US Open 2022: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Alexander Ritschard Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 US Open as Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on Alexander Ritschard in the first round on Monday, August 29th, 2022.

Last year’s semifinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime has a straightforward opener at the 2022 US Open as he is set to cross swords with Swiss qualifier Alexander Ritschard. Will the Canadian breeze or will he make a melee of his opening match? Let us take a closer look at the match in detail.

Felix Auger-Aliassime arrives in New York in the best possible shape. The top-ranked Canadian is a solid 21-9 on hard courts (including indoors) in 2022, and ended his long-awaited title drought at the Rotterdam Open in February. Having cemented his place in the world’s top 10, the big-hitting Felix will now set his eyes on the big prize at the 2022 US Open. Last year he exceeded expectations by virtue of reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal, albeit after he benefitted from Carlos Alcaraz’sretirement in the last eight.

Alexander Ritschard might be Swiss after switching his allegiance, but he is very much laying on home soil at the US Open. Ritschard represented the USA between 2018 – 2022, and attended the University of Virginia, graduating in 2017. But switching to Switzerland has brought with it good vibes, with Ritschard winning his maiden main draw match at tour level in Gstaad just a few months ago and has now qualified for his second Grand Slam. He defeated Franco Agamenone in the final round of qualifying on Friday to reach the main draw.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Ritschard have not crossed paths on the ATP Tour. Monday’s match at the US Open will be their first official meeting. We cannot discard Ritschard’schances of making this match a bit competitive. He is a versatile player and took a set from Tsitsipas at Wimbledon in June. So clearly, he is the sort of player who can go for broke when his back is against the wall. But Felix Auger-Aliassime is in a class of his own and on hard court, this is such a complete mismatch.