Félix Auger-Aliassime played spoiler in Montpellier on Friday as the world No. 8 moved another step closer to defending his crown.
The Canadian defeated crowd-favourite Arthur Fils 6-4, 6-2 in the Open Occitanie quarter-finals. It was the Frenchman’s first event since the National Bank Open in July, returning from a lower-back stress fracture.
It was a virtually flawless service display from Auger-Aliassime as he dropped just four points on serve, all in which came in the first set, ending the match with 12 aces. The Canadian No. 1’s effective defence held Fils to just six winners, while the defending champion finished with 15 of his own.
Following a 16-ace performance in his opening-match win over Stan Wawrinka, Auger-Aliassime’s tally in the quarters grew early on, unleashing two aces on the fly at 1-2, 30-love, for the game. The Montrealer then coupled the love hold with a break to grab a 3-2 advantage.
The rest of the way, Auger-Aliassime fired more aces (five) than points conceded on serve (three). His most powerful display was when serving for the set at 5-4 as the 25-year-old recorded three aces to aid in sealing the opener in a little over half an hour.
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Auger-Aliassime’s delivery didn’t encounter any sort of dip to start the second. At 0-1, the Canadian sandwiched an early break with back-to-back love holds, controlling the set up 3-1. Auger-Aliassime doubled his command, increasing his run to five-straight games to go 5-1 ahead.
Fils ended the Canuck’s streak, but Auger-Aliassime had no issue serving out the match, completing the perfect service set as the top seed didn’t concede a point on his delivery.
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Auger-Aliassime is two wins away from breaking the all-time Canadian singles title record with his ninth-career tour trophy. The Montrealer awaits fourth-seed Tallon Griekspoor or 24-year-old Frenchman Titouan Droguet in the final four on Saturday, his 40th ATP semifinal.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
