Felix Auger Aliassime is into the quarterfinals of the 2022 National Bank Open being played at IGA Stadium after beating Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 13 minutes.
The Canadian served 15 aces and only dropped six points behind his serve to get some revenge for losing to the world No.11 last week in the semifinals of the Los Cabos Open.
” It was something special and this one ranks at the top for sure in terms of serving and to come out against a player I lost to last week, it’s an unbelievable performance”. said Auger-Aliassime.
The first set stayed on serve until 4-3 when the number six seed managed to earn a breakpoint on his opponent’s serve. He managed to get the break before serving out the first set.
The second set stayed on serve for the majority with both players not giving an inch until 4-4 when Auger Aliassime felt he was close to the finish line and broke serve for the second time in the match and served it out.
After the match in his post-match on-court interview, he was asked about using the home crowd to his advantage.
“I think last night I started a bit tentative and today I felt like I wanted to impose myself to be playing attacking tennis and we both played aggressively and it was a tough first set”. He explained.
Round of 16 results
Pablo Carreno Busta beat the number seven seed Jannik Sinner in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 24 minutes and Tommy Paul kept his amazing run alive by beating the number 13 seed Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-2.
Gael Monfils was forced to retire against the British qualifier Jack Draper after losing the first set 6-2 and being up 2-0 in the second set while another Brit Daniel Evans beat American Taylor Fritz 7-6, 1-6, 7-5.
Nick Krygios backed up his win over the world’s number one Danil Medvedev by beating fellow Aussie Alex De Minaur 6-2, 6-3 in only 63 minutes on court.
Hubert Hurkacz, the number eight seed, needed three sets to beat another Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinolas 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 while Casper Ruud beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 in three hours and 18 minutes.