Ninth seed Felix Auger Aliassime beat Alexander Bublik 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in the semifinal of the Paris Rolex Masters at La Defense Arena to reach his second Masters 1000 final.
Auger Aliassime moved past Lorenzo Musetti to move into eighth place in the ATP Live Race to Turin.
Both players held on their serve without facing a single break point in a tight first set. Auger Aliassime earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3 after Bublik hit two forehand into the net.
Bublik earned an early break in the second game to open up a 2-0 lead. Auger Aliassime broke straight back in the third game. Bublik smashed his raquet against the court earnimg himself a code violation. Bublik earned his second break in the fourth game to open up a 4-1 lead, as Auger Aliassime fired a volley wide. Auger Aliassime reeled off five consecutive games and closed out the second set 6-4 with a cross court forehand on his first match point.
“It’s a pleasure. All finals of Masters 1000s are a dream, but especially in Paris, a tournament with so much history and important past champions. I hope I can get the support of the French crowd for one more day to push me to the end”, said Auger Aliassime.
