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 sixth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev in the next round, who beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 6-2.
The No. 8 player in the world will have quite a command to fill against Medvedev, as he is 0-4 in his career so far against him. The Russian, 11th player in the world, had notably eliminated him in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last year.
Auger-Aliassime 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 percent of the points with this one, against barely 62 percent 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.
Auger-Aliassime, who is 22 years old, took an hour and 23 minutes to dispose of Barrère, 71st racket in the world.