Photo: camerawork usa
After a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Gianluca Mager of Italy at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday, Félix Auger-Aliassime looked to keep things rolling on Wednesday in his second-round match against lucky loser Dominik Koepfer of Germany.
Koepfer (No. 58) saved seven match points in his first-round contest to stun Great Britain’s Andy Murray 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(9) and kept that momentum going into today’s contest, claiming a 6-3, 7-5 victory over ninth-seeded Auger-Aliassime. The loss ends Auger-Aliassime’s chances of making the year-end ATP Finals.
Auger-Aliassime, who served well in his opening contest in Paris, wasn’t as dominant in the service department against the World No. 58. The first set saw the Canadian keep 46 per cent of first serves in play, winning 81 per cent of those points, but winning only 32 per cent of points on his second serves. The service woes resulted in five double faults, including one in the ninth game to give the German the first set 6-3.
In the second set, Auger-Aliassime began to regain his rhythm and managed to give himself a look at an early break in Koepfer’s opening service game. Koepfer fended it off, kept his foot on the gas, and eventually broke the Canadian in the very next game to go up a set and a break. Auger-Aliassime was able to level the set as he broke Koepfer back in the seventh game. However, in the 12th game, the first-serve yips came back to haunt the Canadian, double-faulting at 30:30 to give Koepfer a match point opportunity. Koepfer clinched the victory on the next point off of an Auger-Aliassime second serve.
The winners to unforced ratio were 21/35 for Auger-Aliassime and 15/25 for his opponent.
