(Doha) Quebec’s Félix Auger-Aliassime overcame a difficult start to the match and defeated Australian Jason Kluber 4-6, 6-1 and 6-4 in the round of 16 of the Doha tennis tournament on Wednesday.
Auger-Aliassime took the measure of 74e world player after two hours and 16 minutes of play. He thus improved his record to 1-1 in career against Kubler, after he had surprised him in the round of 16 on the grass at the tournament in Newport, Rhode Island last year.
After a slow start, the No. 9 player in the world rebounded and outscored their 29-year-old opponent 15-4 in aces.
Auger-Aliassime was superior in almost every category on serve, in addition to breaking Kubler three times in six occasions during the match. On the other hand, the Australian has stolen the service of the representative of the maple leaf only once in five opportunities.
In addition, the 22-year-old tennis player demonstrated his superiority from the back of the court, with more than double the winning shots (39-18) of Kubler.
In the next round, the second seed will have a date with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 31e player in the world. The Spaniard set the stage for this clash by eliminating South Korean Soonwoo Kwon 6-3, 6-2.