BASEL has always been a source of success for Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, and now the eighth seed is into the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 event second round in 2024. Auger-Aliassime is a back-to-back winner at the indoor hardcourt event having won the past two years and is now just four wins away from completing a three-peat.

Auger-Aliassime’s first round win came against Argentinian Sebastian Baez, where he shrugged off losing three of his past four ATP Tour matches to down the Argentinian 7-5 6-1. It was a tough first set for the Canadian, but he found his best form late in the first set, closing out the match by winning eight of the last nine games.

It was the second time Auger-Aliassime had got the better of Baez, taking 75 minutes to get the job done. He served eight aces and won 42 of 51 points on serve, a record of 82 per cent. By comparison, Baez only won 62 per cent of his service points, with the eighth seed breaking him three times from four chances, while saving both break points he faced.

Auger-Aliassime will face monster serving young gun Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the Round of 16. He joined top seed Andrey Rublev as the two seeded players to reach the second round from day three action.

The biggest shock result of the day was in-form Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut – fresh off a title in Antwerp – downing second seed Casper Ruud. The Spanish veteran – who received a special exemption into the tournament thanks to his deep run in Belgium – knocked off the Norwegian 6-3 3-6 6-3 to put Ruud’s ATP Finals hopes in jeopardy.

“I am enjoying it on the court. As you can see I feel well after a tough year,” Bautista Agut said post-match. “I had a lot of pressure and was playing qualies, but as soon as I got a little bit of calm I could play better and I am enjoying it more.”

In the other seeded match, Belgian lucky loser David Goffin also caused an upset, coming from behind to down French fifth seed Ugo Humbert. The remaining two matches saw Spaniard Pedro Martinez take out Jiri Lehecka, and Swiss wildcard Stan Wawrinka down fellow veteran, Adrian Mannarino.

AROUND THE TOUR

The Erste Bank Open ATP 500 event continued with the first of the quarter finalists decided, as well as the remaining Round of 32 matches completed. Top seed Alexander Zverev lead the charge into the last eight with a 6-2 7-5 defeat of American Marcos Giron, while Giron’s compatriot Frances Tiafoe form slump continued, bowing out to Italian Matteo Berrettini in an epic three-set contest, 6-3 6-7 6-3. He was joined in the quarter finals by fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti, with the sixth seed gaining a walkover of Gael Monfils.

Both of the Stockholm Open finalists commenced their Erste Bank Open campaigns with mixed results. Champion Tommy Paul fell to his countryman Brandon Nakashima in straight sets 6-4 6-4, while Stockholm runner-up and third seed in Vienna, Grigor Dimitrov overcame Zhizhen Zhang, 6-4 7-5.

In the other Round of 32 matches, Almaty champion Karen Khachanov easily put away Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-2 6-4, while Czech Tomas Machac was too good for Fabian Marozsan, 7-6 6-1.