Felix Auger-Alassime’s momentum from the Swiss Indoors Basel has carried over into the first round of the Paris Masters.
In his first match since his title win on Sunday, Auger-Aliassime bested German Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets 7-6(3), 6-4.
Though the match was evenly fought, the Canadian’s ferocious serves were the catalysts that helped propel him to victory. He recorded 17 aces and scored on 87 per cent of his first serve points.
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The first set ended in a tiebreaker that went Auger-Aliassime’s way. Struff only managed two points on the Canadian’s serve in the tiebreak set, while Auger-Aliassime scored four minibreaks.
The Canadian got off to a fast start in the breaker, taking a 6-0 lead before Struff put together a small run to bring him to within four points. Despite his attempt at a comeback, Auger-Aliassime added one more minibreak to put the first set on ice.
After a fierce first set, neither player took their foot off the gas in the second. Struff won his first service game after a lengthy deuce went his way. Auger-Aliassime went on to win his first service game as well but created some separation in the third when he broke Struff’s serve to take a 2-1 lead.
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That lone break point proved to be the difference-maker as both Auger-Aliassime and Struff held their respective services until the end where the former sealed the win with a breeze final game.
Auger-Aliassime was a force to be reckoned with when it came to his first- serve attempts. He scored points on 26 of his 32 first serves in the first set and on all 15 in the second. He wasn’t quite as effective on his second serves, but Struff failed to make the most of it.
With his victory today, Auger-Aliassime is set to play Stefanos Tsitsipas tomorrow. The Greek player is coming off a tough loss at the semifinals in Vienna to Daniil Medvedev.
