Félix Auger-Aliassime had to wait patiently through a lengthy rain delay before his round of 16 match got underway but the Canadian No. 1 was eventually victorious, beating Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-3 at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday.
Auger-Aliassime served well, winning 89 per cent of his points on his first delivery. The Canadian also capitalized on all three of his break points and dominated the winners battle, firing 18 compared to Bonzi’s five.
To start the match, the nearly three-hour delay didn’t look to affect Auger-Aliassime as the Montrealer won eight of the opening nine points to go up an early break. However, Bonzi managed to break back in the third game then hold to level the set at 2-2.
With the Frenchman serving to extend the set at 4-5, Bonzi committed two-straight unforced errors at love-30 to hand Auger-Aliassime the opener.
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The world No. 28 was strong on serve to begin the second set, winning all his first-serve points over his first three service games while firing three aces. At 3-2, the Canadian earned a break thanks to four-consecutive unforced errors by Bonzi.
Auger-Aliassime then needed to hold the rest of the way to secure his spot into the final eight in Cincinnati, which the former world No. 6 did. At 5-3, 40-15, the Canadian No. 1 watched Bonzi’s backhand sail wide – the Frenchman’s 20th unforced error of the evening – as Auger-Aliassime took the match in just under 75 minutes.
The Montrealer is now through to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final since he reached the Madrid Open final in 2024. The 25-year-old will meet world No. 1 Jannik Sinner who ousted fellow Montrealer Gabriel Diallo in the third round.
Feature Photo: Peter Power
