On February 19, the semi-final matches will take place at the ATP tournament in Marseille. We will analyze each participant of the competition and select the favorite.
The tournament in Marseille is played indoors on hard. These competitions belong to the ATP-250 category. Players are competing for a prize pool of €545,200.
Andrei failed to defend his title at the tournament in Rotterdam, losing in the semi-finals to Felix Auger-Aliassime in three games. At the competitions in Marseille, Rublev managed to beat Richard Gasquet and Luc Pouillet in three sets. So far, it is clear that the Russian does not feel ideal on the court, but at the same time, he is ready to fight and demonstrate dynamics in his game.
Such power and pressure do not always bring results for a tennis player from Russia, but his potential is more than solid. In the semi-finals of the seventh racket of the world, he will meet with Benjamin Bonzi. If he manages to beat the Frenchman, then in the final, he will find the winner of the pair Roman Safiullin – Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Benjamin scored an excellent move. He managed to win at the Challenger in Cherbourg, where he beat Constant Lestienne in the final. At the Challenger in Marseille, the Frenchman won all his victories in straight sets. He managed to beat Kamil Maychrzak, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and Aslan Karatsev.
Bonzi has a very good delivery. He makes almost no unforced errors. It is challenging to stop him, as you need to work well with your feet, avoiding unforced errors.
Roman performed very well at the start of the season. He managed to play well at the ATP Cup. After that, there was a certain decline. The Russian must add and rise since the 163rd place in the rankings does not correspond to his potential.
Safiullin made his way to the tournament’s main draw in Marseille through qualification. In it, he beat Ernest Gulbis and Julian Lenz. In the main round, he coped with Alexei Popyrin, Tomas Makhach, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. A good serve allows the 24-year-old tennis player from Russia to feel comfortable on the court.
Felix won the tournament in Rotterdam and moved up to the ninth position on the ATP Tour. The Canadian can progress further. In his actions on the court, lightness is visible. True, the physical condition of Auger-Aliassime raises certain concerns. Still, after the major in Australia, he rested for less than two weeks. It is clear that matches in the hall are not so energy-consuming, but it can still be emotionally difficult for Felix.
Felix Auger-Aliassime in Marseilles beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Ilya Ivashka in straight sets.
In the final, we will most likely face the confrontation between Andrei Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Russian has a good chance of revenge. You can bring them to life due to better physical readiness. When Rublev is charged with high-quality movement around the court and nothing bothers him, dealing with his powerful shots on the backline is not easy. The Canadian’s energy should still decline. Given this, we propose to take the victory of a tennis player from Russia at a tournament in Marseille.