Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime secured his spot in the Round of 16 at the Paris Masters with a hard-fought 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) victory over France’s Alexandre Muller. Auger-Aliassime’s dominant serve, delivering 21 aces with an average speed of 206 kilometres per hour, played a crucial role in his win.
Ranked ninth, Auger-Aliassime is striving for a strong performance at the ATP 1000 event to close the gap on eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti in the ATP Race To Turin standings. The top eight players qualify for the prestigious year-end ATP Finals. Auger-Aliassime benefited from Musetti’s surprising defeat to Lorenzo Sonego, enhancing his chances to secure a spot.
Having recently won an ATP 250 event in Belgium, Auger-Aliassime faced setbacks when he had to retire due to a back injury in a quarterfinal match in Basel. Muller initially gained an edge in the match by securing a crucial break to take the first set 7-5.
In a resilient display, Auger-Aliassime fought back in the second set, overcoming deficits to force a tiebreak. Despite trailing 5-4 in the tiebreak, he rallied with consecutive aces and seized the set point on return. The third set saw both players holding serve, with Auger-Aliassime staging a comeback from deficits of 3-0 and 4-3 in the tiebreak to clinch the victory.
Auger-Aliassime is set to face Daniel Altmier in the Round of 16, holding a 1-2 career record against the German. Known for his prowess in tiebreaks, Auger-Aliassime has a remarkable 69.2% winning percentage in tiebreak situations, showing his ability to excel under pressure.
In separate matches, Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo fell to sixth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur, while Leylah Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 win over Germany’s Eva Lys. Fernandez, who won 73% of her first-serve points and broke Lys four times, will face the seventh-seeded Sorana Cirstea in the next round. Victoria Mboko, another Canadian player, is set to compete against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
Fernandez’s victory marked her seventh win in the last eight matches, including her triumph at the Japan Open earlier this month, highlighting her strong form heading into the upcoming matches.