Frances Tiafoe vs Felix Auger-Aliassime Preview & Tips - Auger-Aliassime tipped for battling win over Tiafoe

Felix Auger-Aliassime was in no mood to mess around in the third round as he roared past Juan Manuel Cerundolo in a 7-5 6-1 win. 

The pair have met four times before, with Auger-Aliassime winning three times and Tiafoe winning once. 

Frances Tiafoe had failed to make it beyond the third round of any of his last three tournaments, meaning his foray into the fourth round at the Cincinnati Open is a welcome return to form. 

His opening two matches have been a mixed bag. His first outing in the second round saw Tiafoe easily beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 6-4 before he was given a real test in a 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over Learner Tien. The quality of opponent continues to rise, with Felix Auger-Aliassime the second seed at the tournament. 

While Tiafoe did win their last meeting back in June, he had lost the three previous meetings, with two of these coming on hard courts. While Tiafoe has enjoyed a good start to the competition, I do not see him beating his opponent as he slips to a 2-1 loss. 

Felix Auger-Aliassime is yet to drop a set at the Cincinnati Open following a pair of 2-0 wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Juan Manuel Cerundolo. 

Both outings saw Auger-Aliassime win a set 7-5, although he was not tested in the other set. Opponents have clearly struggled to deal with Auger-Aliassime's game over the course of the match, with the 26-year-old yet to be seriously tested. 

With the US Open in sight, Auger-Aliassime will be desperate to enter the tournament with a strong run behind him. A quarter-final loss to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon back in July was a decent return, but he will be targeting an even deeper run at the US Open. While Tiafoe will give him a real test, I back Auger-Aliassime to come through in a battling 2-1 win.