Felix through in Montpellier mixed bag
CANADIAN Felix Auger-Aliassime is through to the semi-finals of the Open Occitanie after an impressive straight sets win over eighth seeded Canadian Yunchaokete Bu. The world number 23 proved a step above the Chinese world number 71, winning 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 24 minutes to move one victory away from the final.
Auger-Aliassime broke in the fourth game of the first set and that was enough to secure the early lead, converting the sole break point opportunity he earned. The second set was a little different early, setting up two break points and a third in the fifth game, before finally converting with his fourth chance when 3-3. He held to love twice more for the match and showed he had done enough to win the quarter final with those two breaks of serve.
Auger-Aliassime hit 19 winners – 11 coming from aces – to Bu’s 12 while committing two less unforced errors (23-25) in a reliable performance. Only dropping 10 points on serve for the entire match (86 per cent of his first serve), the Canadian did not face a break point throughout the two sets.
Auger-Aliassime will now take on Dutchman Jesper De Jong who upset his compatriot and fifth seed Tallon Griekspoor. De Jong won 7-6 6-4 in an hour and 49 minutes, getting home in a neck-and-neck contest that saw the lower ranked compatriot save all six break points he faced, and converted just one of three to secure the win.
“My game is more disciplined,” Auger-Aliassime said post-match of his 2025 start to the season. “I feel like last year I had some brilliant shots but also moments where I made a lot of mistakes. But now, two straight-sets wins, [I am] more solid and I am happy with that because that’s the goal. Hopefully I go one more step and get to the finals on Sunday.”
In the other two quarter finals, top seed Andrey Rublev stamped his ticket to the semi-finals after Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili retired after just seven games. Rublev was leading 5-2 at the time. The world number 10 takes on American qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic who surprised everyone with another big win, defeating fourth seed Alexander Bublik 6-3 6-2. Bublik was still in good spirits though as the entertainer even allowed a ball boy to play a point with his racquet to entertain the crowd in defeat.
OPEN OCCITANIE ATP 250 – QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:
[1] Andrey Rublev (RUS) defeated [Q] Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) 5-2 RET
[2] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) defeated [8] Yunchaokete Bu (CHN) 6-3 6-4
[Q] Aleksandar Kovacevic (USA) defeated [4] Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 6-3 6-2
Jesper De Jong (NED) defeated [5] Tallon Griekspoor (NED) 7-6 6-4
Felix through in Montpellier mixed bag
CANADIAN Felix Auger-Aliassime is through to the semi-finals of the Open Occitanie after an impressive straight sets win over eighth seeded Canadian Yunchaokete Bu. The world number 23 proved a step above the Chinese world number 71, winning 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 24 minutes to move one victory away from the final. Auger-Aliassime […]
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