Photo: AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Canadian tennis fans will have been disappointed to see Vasek Pospisil and Félix Auger-Aliassime matched up in the first round of the Vienna Open when the draw was initially made. Don’t get us wrong, the prospect of two of the country’s top players going head to head is always a mouth-watering one. However, the final would be much more desirable than the first round.
Auger-Aliassime had come out on top in all three of their previous meetings. The Montrealer secured a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory in Indian Wells two years ago in their first match before two further wins at Wimbledon (5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3) and Rogers Cup (6-2, 6-7[3], 7-6[3]) in 2019.
The 2020 edition of the Félix-Vasek spectacle began with a tight first set. Pospisil jumped out to an early 2-0 lead having broken Auger-Aliassime’s serve at the first time of asking, but the 20-year-old quickly levelled things up by breaking back.
Despite some strong tennis from both players, it was Pospisil who came out of the first set on top. At 6-5, the Vancouver native crafted a trio of break point opportunities on Auger-Aliassime’s serve – taking the third thanks to a double fault that the Montrealer will be disappointed with.
The second set saw Pospisil and Auger-Aliassime showcase their tremendous resilience. Just three break point opportunities were exchanged throughout the entire set prior to the final game, where Pospisil – up 6-5 – manufactured three match points.
A long return by Auger-Aliassime ensured the 30-year-old sealed the victory and passage through to the next round, where he will face fourth seed Daniel Medvedev.
