Félix Auger-Aliassime is through to the semifinal of the BOSS Open in Stuttgart after a straight-set win over Justin Engel on Friday.
The German wildcard impressed in the opening set, forcing a tiebreak, but the Canadian No. 1 was solid on serve throughout the match as Auger-Aliassime’s 7-6(3), 6-3 victory spoiled the party for the home crowd. The Montreal-native won 86 per cent of his first-serve points and 72 per cent on his second delivery while only being broken once.
Engel was Auger-Aliassime’s youngest-ever ATP Tour opponent, aged just 17-years-old.
The German youngster showed no sign of nerves early on, firing two aces in his opening service game as both players held till the fifth game.
At 2-2, Auger-Aliassime held two break points at 15-40 but Engel saved both. After five deuces, the world No. 29 finally managed the break thanks to a pair of unforced errors by the German. The game lasted over 20 minutes, only for Engel to break back and level the set at 3-3.
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That was the last of the Canadian’s troubles on serve in the opener as Auger-Aliassime dropped just one point in his next-three service games, firing three of his seven aces in the first set.
The opening set needed a tiebreaker where the 24-year-old didn’t drop a point on serve, cruising to seven points.
In the second, Auger-Aliassime delivered his best single-set service performance of the year so far. The Montreal-native fired nine aces in his first-four service games before managing a break to put the world No. 29 in a spot to serve for the match.
At 30-love, Auger-Aliassime added two more aces to his tally, part of his season-best 11 in the set. The Canadian also won a season-best 89 per cent of his first-serve points in the second as the former world No. 6 sealed the win.
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Auger-Aliassime is now through to his sixth semifinal of the year, his last coming in Germany as well, at the Hamburg Open last month.
The Canadian No. 1 will meet American No. 1 Taylor Fritz in the final four on Saturday.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
