Félix Auger-Aliassime has secured a spot in the semifinals of the Paris Masters tennis tournament, gaining essential points in his effort to qualify for the ATP Finals at the end of the year.
On Friday, Auger-Aliassime triumphed with a score of 6-2, 6-2 against wild card Valentin Vacherot from Monaco, and he is set to compete against 13th-seed Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan in the semifinals.
This victory over the in-form Vacherot places Auger-Aliassime just 90 points shy of Lorenzo Musetti in the race for the eighth and final spot in the ATP Finals, which will commence next month in Turin, Italy. A win in the semifinals would allow Auger-Aliassime to surpass Musetti, who was eliminated in the second round in Paris.
Prior to reaching the quarterfinals, Auger-Aliassime had been fighting hard through three-set matches and tiebreaks, while Vacherot was enjoying a remarkable 10-match winning streak at the ATP 1000 level, having won the last Masters event earlier this month in Shanghai.
However, in Paris, the ninth-seeded Auger-Aliassime appeared to elevate his game against Vacherot. The 25-year-old from Montreal won 89 percent of his first-serve points and successfully saved the only two break points he encountered.
“Every opponent presents a unique challenge. It was intriguing to face someone I know from practice but had never encountered in a match,” stated Auger-Aliassime.
“He exudes confidence, which can be intimidating. One wonders if he possesses some extraordinary ability that no one else has, as he is performing exceptionally well. Nonetheless, I needed to maintain focus from the very start, and the intensity I brought from the first game helped me settle into the match and play well.”
He limited Vacherot to just 6 out of 39 return points, while he won 49 percent (30 of 61) of his own returns and broke his opponent’s serve four times.
Auger-Aliassime is in pursuit of his ninth career title and his first at the Masters level.
Bublik progressed by upsetting sixth-seed Alex de Minaur from Australia with a score of 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5. Auger-Aliassime holds a 3-2 career record against Bublik.
Canadians Mboko, Fernandez set for clash
In the women’s tournament, Canada’s Victoria Mboko and Leylah Fernandez are set to compete against each other in the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open on Saturday, following their victories in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Fernandez, seeded No. 2, triumphed over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea with a score of 6-4, 6-4, while Mboko, seeded No. 3, secured a win against Russian Anna Kalinskaya due to a walkover at 6-1, 3-1.
The winner of their semifinal will face either Spain’s Cristina Bucsa or Australia’s Maya Joint, who are ranked 68th and 32nd in the world, respectively. Mboko and Fernandez are currently ranked No. 21 and No. 22.
