Félix Auger-Aliassime will be heading home early after he was upset by Mariano Navone 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in his opening match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Saturday morning.
It is the second consecutive loss for the world No. 5, after he was upset by Alexander Blockx in the round of 32 in Madrid. Auger-Aliassime struggled throughout the match, as he committed 52 unforced errors and won just 64 per cent of his first serves in a match that lasted nearly three hours.
Navone will move on to the round of 32 for a matchup against the winner of the matchup between Joao Fonseca and Hamad Medjedovic.
Auger-Aliassime got off to a steady start on Saturday morning, as he held on each of his first two service games without much trouble to take a 2-1 lead. Things began to unravel for the Canadian after that.
With a chance to break Navone and take a 3-1 lead, the Canadian was unable to capitalize. The Argentinian would hold and would go on to win seven straight points over the next three service games, including the first break of the match, to take a 4-2 lead.
Auger-Aliassime found himself in trouble once again on his next service game as Navone pushed him to a pair of break points. However, Auger-Aliassime was able to fight off both opportunities for a much-needed hold.
The fourth-seeded Auger-Aliassime took back control of the first by forcing four break points while Navone was serving for the set, and completed his first break in five opportunities with a strong forehand winner to even things at 5-5.
After a quick hold to go up 6-5, Auger-Aliasime would drop eight of the next 10 points and fall into a 4-0 hole in the first set tiebreak. Momentum would briefly swing back to the Canadian, but Navone would eventually take the set 7-6 (4) after several fantastic rallies.
Auger-Aliassime committed 27 unforced errors in a messy first set that took 1:25 to complete.
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The 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime seized momentum in the second set with an early break and hold to go up 2-0. He began to falter in his second service game and needed to fend off three break points. With the help of several big serves, he would eventually complete the hold with his sixth ace of the match to go up 3-1.
Auger-Aliassime earned a pair of set points while up 5-3 with Navone on serve, but was unable to convert as his 44th-ranked opponent rallied from a 40-15 deficit to hold and extend the set. Navone would maintain momentum and immediately break Auger-Aliassime for the second time in the match to get back on serve at 5-5.
The Canadian quickly rebounded and earned a second chance to serve for the set thanks to his third break of the match. Unfortunately for Auger-Aliassime, his erratic performance continued, as he committed three consecutive unforced errors to put himself in a 0-40 hole. Navone would convert on break point No. 3 to force a tiebreak for the second straight set.
During the tiebreak, Auger-Aliassime was in visible discomfort and appeared to be fighting cramps in both of his legs. Navone took advantage of the compromised Auger-Aliassime, grinding his opponent down with long rallies. The Canadian began to visibly limp after Navone took a 6-4 lead in the tiebreak to earn double match point, and from that point on, it was only a matter of time as Navone would complete the upset on his second match point.
Navone, who won his first career ATP title in Bucharest this past March, reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
