Carried by the energy of a crowd who only had eyes for him, Frenchman Arthur Cazaux almost caused a surprise against Félix Auger-Aliassime during their round of 16 duel at the Montpellier tournament on Thursday.
The Quebecer worked hard to come from behind in each of the three sets and win 7-5, 2-6 and 7-6(4), in a match that lasted 2 hours 48 minutes.
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The Montpellier native was cheered by the crowd as soon as he entered the field, setting the tone for what would prove to be a difficult match for Auger-Aliassime. Cazaux had several good moments, being able to achieve the first break each time.
His spectacular shots had the crowd roaring and the 21-year-old wanting more. At the start of the second set, his backhand shot on the edge of the line allowed him to gain rhythm to win the set with authority.
Despite his great efforts, the 83rd racket in the world was unable to triumph over the former member of the ATP top 10. Auger-Aliassime held on thanks to an efficient second service ball (53% points won) which counterbalanced his seven double faults.
Cazaux even served for the match at 5-4, but the 23-year-old blanked him to orchestrate his final comeback. In the tiebreaker, “FAA” quickly took control and no longer looked behind.
Auger-Aliassime will have to expect another hostile crowd in his second match in Montpellier as he faces Harold Mayot, another Frenchman. He defeated his experienced compatriots Benoît Paire and Lucas Pouille in the first two rounds.