Felix Auger Aliassime edged past Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3 1-6 6-3 in just under two hours to advance to the second round at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.
Auger Aliassime broke serve at 15 in the fourth game and saved two break points to hold serve at deuce to open up a 4-1 lead. The Canadian Next Gen player held on his next two service games to win the opening set 6-3.
Struff reeled off five consecutive games from 1-1 with two consecutive breaks in the fourth and sixth games to win the second set 6-1.
Auger Aliassime saved a total of three break points in the first and seventh games before breaking serve at 30 to open up a 5-3 lead. The young Canadian player served out the win on his first match point. Auger Aliassime set up a second round match against Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Denis Shapovalov yesterday.
“It was really tough, there was so much emotion running through my head. I felt I had chances in the first game of the second set, with the overhead, and so many chances to make the break. It was really frustrating. It led me to lose focus in the second set and get broken twice, which isn’t ideal for me or normal. In the third set, it was about forgetting and moving forward. I am really happy, it’s a really good lesson and a great win to come back after losing the set so badly”, said Auger Aliassime.
Karen Khachanov cruised past Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-3 in 1 hour and 19 minutes after converting on four of his seven break points. Khachanov won four of his five matches at the first edition of the ATP Cup in Australia and has a win-loss record of 7-3 in the 10 matches he played this year. Khachanov will face Daniel Evans, who beat Phillip Kohlschreiber in straight set.
The first set went on serve until the sixth game when Khachanov earned the first break at 30 to open up a 4-2 lead. Fognini broke straight back for 3-4 in the seventh game, but Khachanov converted his second break point and served out the first set on his first set point.
Fognini saved two break points and held his serve in the third game of the second set. The Italian player required a medical time-out to treat a problem on his right leg. Khachanov won the final three games with seventh and ninth games to close out the second set 6-3.
Andrey Rublev eased past Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2 6-3 with two breaks in each set to improve his record to 12 wins in 13 matches this year, including two consecutive titles in Doha and Adelaide.
