United Cup Prediction: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Zhizhen Zhang
03:00 AM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Felix Auger-Aliassime -769 / Zhizhen Zhang +550
Tournament Details
Tournament name: United Cup
Host cities: Perth, Sydney
Date: 2 – 11 January 2026
Field: 18 countries
Total prize money: $11,806,190
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Zhizhen Zhang Preview
Felix Auger-Aliassime gets the nod to play the United Cup, and as World No. 5, he is Canada’s top-ranked player. In fact, he is the second-highest-ranked male player in the competition this year, just behind World No. 3 Alexander Zverev. This Auger-Aliassime’s best-ever ranking on the ATP Tour after a fabulous 2025 season in which he won three titles and qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin, where he made the last four.
Auger-Aliassime compiled 52 wins and 26 losses in easily his best season. He produced consistent results all year, like reaching the US Open semifinals and the Paris Masters final. The benchmark that often proved to be Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz stood in his way. There were a few lows too, like an underwhelming Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon, where he failed to scale the second round. This will be his second appearance in the United Cup. He won one match in the event last year when he defeated Taylor Fritz.
Zhizhen Zhang has already played a match in singles at the United Cup, defeating Zizou Bergs of Belgium in a thrilling three-set match. The match lasted nearly three hours, with each set taking almost an hour. The first two sets were decided in a tiebreaker, with Bergs winning the first and Zhang taking the second on his third set point. It was not until the 11th game of the match that the first break point of the match was converted, and Zhang took it. The Chinese player served to 15 in the next game to wrap up a 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 victory.
Zhang hit 12 aces and landed 66% of first serves in play. He won 83% of first serve points (59/71) and 57% of second serve points (21/37). Zhang did not face a single break point in the match, but created 10 chances on return and finally took the one that mattered in the deciding set.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Zhizhen Zhang Head-To-Head
Zhang defeated Auger-Aliassime in straight sets in their only meeting at the 2024 Marseille Open.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Zhizhen Zhang Prediction
I’m backing the Zhang games handicap here after a spectacular serving performance in the opening match. He clocked 12 aces and never faced a break point in the whole three-hour marathon. Zhang has been underestimated and overlooked partly because of his injury-troubled 2025 season, but he’s a big ball striker who can manufacture plenty of winners when injury-free. And he is right now. This could be a tricky rubber for Team Canada.