Félix Auger-Aliassime is playing some of the best tennis of his career and his recent opponents have had no answers for him.
The Montreal native beat world number one Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 to book his ticket to the Swiss Indoors final on Saturday.
He next faces Holger Rune in Sunday’s final at 10 a.m. ET with eyes on his third straight ATP Tour title. Auger-Aliassime entered the tournament having won the Florence Open and the European Open two consecutive weeks.
“It’s amazing,” Auger-Aliassime, the tournament’s third seed and world No.9, said after the game. “I didn’t expect it, when I was in Florence three weeks ago, or after the US Open. I’m just very happy that all my hard work is coming through.
“I always believed that I could play that way, that I could be consistent that way, but one thing is to believe and the other is to actually do it. It’s nice to feel that, it’s nice to go out on the pitch and win so many matches in a row, so hopefully this is just the beginning of seeing me playing this way.”
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime improves his career mark to 3-0 against Alcaraz:
Carlos Alcaraz was no match for Auger-Aliassime as the Canadian beat world number one Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.
This is the second time the Montreal native has beaten Alcaraz since becoming the highest ranked player on the ATP Tour. Auger-Aliassime got the better of the 19-year-old Spaniard in a Davis Cup singles match on September 16 while competing for Canada.
The Canadian is now 3-0 in career against Alcaraz.
“I served amazing”
Auger-Aliassime, who hasn’t lost a match since October 3 at the Astana Open, has dropped just one set in four matches so far in the tournament and is yet to convert break point against him.
“So far he’s been very close to perfect. [in Basel]”, Auger-Aliassime said during his on-court interview. “I served amazingly, I haven’t been beaten once yet. There’s still one game to go, but it’s been a fantastic week, [I have] played good tennis, and again today against the best player in the world. It’s an incredible victory, so I’m really happy with my level and I hope I can go all the way.”
The 22-year-old fired nine aces without committing a double fault in the match. He also won 82% of his first-serve points while smashing three of his eight chances in the one-hour, 21-minute game.
Alcaraz finished with zero aces and three double faults and couldn’t convert their only break point chance. He won 62% of his first serve points.
The match started off as a back-and-forth affair as Alcaraz tied Auger-Aliassime for every game they won. Once tied 3-3, Auger-Aliassime won three straight matches to take the set. He hit six of his nine aces in the set.
WATCH Auger-Aliassime beats Bublik to reach semi-finals:
Montrealer Felix Auger-Aliassime won his 11th game in a row on Friday, 6-2, 6-3 against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel.
In the second, Auger-Aliassime took a 3-1 lead before Alcaraz reduced the deficit in game five. Auger-Aliassime then broke in game seven to make it 5-2 before saving Alcaraz’s only chance to win the set and the match.
“Show up and take care of my serve game after game,” Auger-Aliassime said after the game. “I think it was a nervous start for both of us, but I think I was able to put a lot of pressure on 1/8 with my 3/8 second serve return, and I think he felt.
“From that moment, I was able to have a lot of opportunities. [In the second set] I got some free points and was able to use them really well. In [world] No. 1 in fashion, he came back with good points, had a break point [in the final game] to come back a bit. It was 0/30 on my serve, so these are good games to win.”
Also on Saturday, Rune defeated sixth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(1), 7-6(6).
Shapovalov wins 95% of 1st serve points
Canadian Denis Shapovalov will advance to the Vienna Open final after beating Borna Coric 7-6(4), 6-0 on Saturday.
The native of Richmond Hill, Ont., won 95 percent of his first-serve points in addition to hitting seven aces.
Shapovalov also broke on three of his four chances.
“Definitely another great game for me,” Shapovalov said. “Obviously Borna played some tough long games, so I think the first set was very important.
“I was really happy, I played a great tiebreaker. I thought it was very close to both of us. I think just one point made the difference…Getting the break early in the second set just gave me a bit more energy and, you know, it kind of lost him, I think, a bit of confidence, but a great game for me.”
WATCH l Shapovalov wins 2nd game in a row against Coric:
Shapovalov mounted his dominant serve for a straight-set victory over Borna Coric and a place in the final.
Shapovalov sent the first set to a tiebreaker after tying Coric in every game he won. The Canadian claimed the first three points of the final set before Coric came back to win four of the next seven. Shapovalov, 23, won the set with an ace.
In a dominant second set, Shapovalov broke Coric’s serve in the second game before saving a break point chance from Coric in the third. Shapovalov broke again in game four as he held the Croatian scoreless en route to victory.
World number 4 Daniil Medvedev will be Shapovalov’s next opponent on Sunday as he seeks to win his second career title and first this year. Medvedev is 3-2 in his career against Shapovalov.
“It’s a good opportunity for me to play against a guy like Daniil,” Shapovalov said. “[I] beat him a few times before – he’s a great player though.
“I mean, he’s been playing a lot. The last two times he’s had me and he’s very tricky. He’s having a great week. He’s been playing well all the time here, so it’s going to be a tough battle, but I can’t wait to be there.”
Swiatek and Gauff in the same group at the WTA Finals
World number one Iga Swiatek will face American Coco Gauff in a rematch of their French Open final after the pair were drawn into the same group for the round robin stage of the WTA Finals which kicks off Monday in Fort Worth, Texas.
Roland Garros and US Open champions Swiatek (21) and Gauff (18) – the two youngest players on the board – were joined in the Tracy Austin group by Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina after the draw for the end of season tournament.
Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the second player in the world, dominated the Nancy Richey Group in which she was joined by Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka.
The top two players from each group will advance to the semi-finals on November 6, with the final roster for the following day.
Spaniard Garbine Muguruza won the 2021 edition of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
#close #perfection #AugerAliassime #Swiss #final #No.1 #Alcaraz #RadioCanada #Sports