(Rotterdam) Félix Auger-Aliassime defeated Grégoire Barrère 6-4, 6-3 and secured his ticket to the quarter-finals of the Rotterdam tennis tournament on Thursday.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded third in the tournament, will face in the next round the winner of the duel between Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp and Russian Daniil Medvedev, seeded sixth.
The Quebecer took an hour and 23 minutes to dispose of Barrere, 71e world racket.
The 22-year-old tennis player is trying to successfully defend a first career title, having triumphed in Rotterdam last year. This triumph had instilled an extra dose of confidence in him, who went on to win three more titles in 2022.
Auger-Aliassime, the eighth player in the world, set the tone for the encounter by scoring six aces in the first set alone. His first service ball proved to be much more incisive than that of his opponent; he obtained 75% of the points with this one, against barely 62% for Barrere.
The Quebecer was also patient and more opportunistic, with two breaks in three chances. In comparison, Barrere could not take advantage of his only break point in the first set.
The second set turned out to be a little tougher, but Auger-Aliassime’s experience enabled him to do well. at 5-3, and he sealed the outcome of the game on his next service game.