Félix Auger-Aliassime defeated Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-0 on Wednesday to advance to the third round at the Madrid Open. The eighth-seeded Canadian defeated the Chilean in 70 minutes, dominating 5-1 for breaks and 8-1 for aces.
Auger-Aliassime took a 5-1 lead in the first set. In the second set, a double fault by Garin put his rival up 1-0, en route to an easy win.
The Quebecer will face Thursday the 10th headliner, the 20-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner. The latter has just earned a 100th victory at the ATP.
Auger-Aliassime and Sinner will cross swords for the very first time.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rafael Nadal made a successful comeback by beating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 7-6 (4).
Nadal bounced back after suffering two breaks, following a brief rain-induced hiatus.
Ranked fourth in the world, Nadal was sidelined for nearly 45 days with a stress fracture to a rib after a strong start to the season. He notably won the Australian Open, his 21st Grand Slam title.
Nadal was on his way to victory before suffering an injury in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters, and he lost to American Taylor Fritz in the final – it was his first loss this season. “Rafa” then missed the tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
Third seed in Madrid, Nadal played down his chances of earning a sixth career title there, however.
The 35-year-old veteran could face rising star Carlos Alcaraz, a compatriot, in the quarter-finals.
If he reaches the semi-finals, he could find there the No. 1 Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray, who has already occupied the top of the ATP.
If he triumphs in Madrid, then Nadal would equal Djokovic’s mark with 37 Masters 1000 series titles.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev beat Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, setting the stage for a third-round match against American Sebastian Korda.
Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas had seven aces and three breaks against Lucas Pouille, winning 6-3, 6-4.
Qualifier Dusan Lajovic stunned fifth seed Casper Ruud 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-4, while ninth seed Cameron Norrie beat American John Isner 6-4 , 6-7 (5), 6-4.
Daniel Evans ousted 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (2).
Defeat for Halep
In the ladies, eighth seed Ons Jabeur edged out two-time Madrid champion Simona Halep 6-3, 6-2.
Halep, 21st in the world, committed 20 unforced errors and fired just eight game winners.
Jabeur will next face Ekaterina Alexandrova, who eliminated American Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-3.
Jil Belen Teichmann and Jessica Pegula were the day’s other winners.