Félix Auger-Aliassime's strong run in at the Rolex Shanghai Masters came to a surprising end on Friday as the Canadian was upset in the quarter-finals by Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in straight sets.
Coming into the match with a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over the Frenchman, with both wins having come in 2025, Auger-Aliassime was unable to apply much pressure to Rinderknech’s serve. Just a couple of key points ended up making the difference in the 6-3, 6-4 loss.
The Frenchman was incredibly opportunistic in this match. There were five total break points and all of them, three on Rinderknech’s serve and two on Auger-Aliassime's, were won by the Frenchman. Rinderknech was unflappable while serving, winning 85 per cent of his first-serve points and losing just 12 points on serve in total.
For most of the first set, the servers faced little resistance. Each man was pushed to deuce in their second service game but still managed a hold without facing a break point.
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There ended up being only a single break point in the entire opening frame. In the sixth game, Auger-Aliassime let a 40-15 lead slip away with a double-fault and a forehand error. Another forehand miss gave Rinderknech what proved to be the only break point of the first set, which he converted with a forehand passing shot that clipped the line.
Rinderknech seized the initiative to start the second set, drawing an error to create a break point in the opening game and then ripping a forehand up the line that the Canadian couldn’t handle to take an early lead.
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Auger-Aliassime had a golden opportunity to get back in the set in the fourth game when he went up love-40, his first break points of the day, but missed three straight forehands, two on returns.
That was the last chance the Canadian had as Rinderknech locked in on serve the rest of the way. From love-40 down in that game, the Frenchman won 17 of his next 18 service points to secure the victory.
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The loss is a missed opportunity for Auger-Aliassime as he had a chance to close the gap even further between himself and Lorenzo Musetti in the race to qualify for the ATP Finals. Auger-Aliassime did make up ground by beating the Italian in the fourth round in Shanghai but could have cut his deficit nearly in half had he beaten Rinderknech. The Montrealer is just over 500 points back of Musetti for the eighth and final qualifying spot with less than a month to go.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
