(Basel) Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime defeated Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in two sets of 6-4 and 6-2 on Thursday and qualified for the quarter-finals of the Basel tennis tournament.
Auger-Aliassime, 19e racket in the world, is the reigning champion of this tournament. Last year, he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final and Holger Rune in the final.
With 70% of his first balls in play, the Quebecer managed five aces and won 37 points on serve. In return for services, he also won more than half of the rallies in second balls, with a 57% success rate.
Auger-Aliassime broke his opponent four times in six chances and won 56% of the match’s points.
The Montrealer committed only three unforced errors, compared to seven on the side of van de Zandschulp, 65e world player.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded sixth in the tournament, will face Alexander Shevchenko in the quarterfinals.
Shevchenko upset third seed Taylor Fritz with a 6-7 (7), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) victory.
Other results
Dominic Stricker, 96e player, eliminated the eighth world player Casper Ruud by winning 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1).
Stricker had 13 aces in the match and won 82% of his points using his first serve.
In another round of 16 match, Denmark’s Holger Rune, tournament favorite and sixth-ranked player in the world, defeated Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 7-6 (2), 6-1.
In the quarterfinals, Rune will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who eliminated veteran Andy Murray on Wednesday, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2.