Dubai Championships: Auger-Aliassime vs Cressy Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Dubai Championships as Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on Maxime Cressy in the first round on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

It will be a serving feast as Maxime Cressy locks horns against fellow big server Felix Auger-Aliassime. This matchup will come down to very subtle details, so will prevail and advance into the second round of the Dubai Championships?

Felix Auger-Aliassime is 7-4 for the season, losing in his most recent match to Daniil Medvedev in Doha. In fact, it was the second time this year that the Canadian fell to the resurgent Russian who also got the better of him in Rotterdam. The Canadian is only just clinging onto his top-10 ranking, and he cannot afford any slip-up in the opening round of the Dubai Championships when he battles big-serving Maxime Cressy.

Maxime Cressy, for his part, was slow off the blocks but has enjoyed a rapid return to good form in February, reaching the ATP final in Montpellier and losing to in-form young Italian Jannik Sinner. Cressy’s serve has been a menace on indoor hard courts. He notched some eyebrow-raising victories over Borna Croic, and Holger Rune and even took a set off Alex De Minaur. If he can serve and volley to perfection at the Dubai Championships, do not rule out an upset when he squares off against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Maxime Cressy leads Felix Auger-Aliassime 1-0 in their head-to-head, stunning the Canadian in the first round of Wimbledon last year. This match will most likely feature a maximum of two or three service breaks. Both layers are serving behemoths. And if Auger-Aliassime wanders off his game, he won’t be getting second chances on that Cressy serve. The American is not flinching under pressure and we reckon he has a shot of upsetting the inconsistent fourth seed at the Dubai Championships.