(Doha) Félix Auger-Aliassime defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the quarter-finals of the tennis tournament in Doha, Qatar on Thursday afternoon, setting the stage for another duel against Daniil Medvedev.
Auger-Aliassime took the measure of the Spaniard ranked 31ste in the world after one hour and 48 minutes.
The tournament’s second seed has Davidovich Fokina’s number since he joined the ATP Tour: he is a perfect 3-0 against him, having defeated him at the Rome Masters and Internationals from Australia in 2022.
The 22-year-old Quebecer once again relied on his formidable serve to establish his game against the 31e world player. He hit eight aces, Davidovich Fokina only one, and won 86% of the points with his first ball.
Auger-Aliassime nevertheless had to work hard against his rival – as was the case in their two previous duels. He also managed the only break of the game to take a 5-4 lead in the first set, en route to victory.
The representative of the Maple Leaf also dominated the winners 25-20, and committed only one unforced error more (12-11) than Davidovich Fokina.
In the semi-finals, Auger-Aliassime will therefore find Medvedev. The third seed of the tournament defeated him in the quarter-finals of the Rotterdam tournament last week.
The Russian secured his ticket to the semi-finals by defeating Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-2, 4-6 and 7-5 earlier on Thursday.
In the other semi-final, the Czech Jiri Lehecka, 52e player in the world, will cross swords with Scotsman Andy Murray, 70e.
The 35-year-old Murray has had three hip surgeries.
In the previous round, the champion of three major tournaments got the better of fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev.
Murray won the Doha tournament in 2008 and 2009.