(Paris) Every good thing comes to an end. Félix Auger-Aliassime lost 6-3, 7-6 (4) to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Paris Tennis Masters.
Auger-Aliassime was on a good streak recently, having just posted six consecutive victories. He also took the opportunity to successfully defend his title at the indoor tournament in Basel, Switzerland, last weekend.
Tsitsipas, however, blocked his way on Wednesday on the court of the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The Greek ousted him after a duel lasting one hour and 48 minutes of play.
Tsitsipas now has a 6-3 career record against the 23-year-old Quebecer. Their last clash took place in the final of the indoor tournament in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in 2022, and Auger-Aliassime won to win his first career title.
The seventh seed of the Paris tournament will meet in the round of 16 with the winner of the match between the Frenchman Ugo Humbert and the German Alexander Zverev.
Auger-Aliassime did not start the match with as much confidence as the day before against the German Jan-Lennard Struff.
The representative of the maple leaf was the victim of a first break of service in the fourth game, after having sent his forehand outside the limits of the court. Tsitsipas then led 3-1. Auger-Aliassime was then unable to turn things around afterwards, and the Greek, sixth player in the world, won the first set 6-3.
PHOTO STÉPHANIE LECOCQ, REUTERS
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Auger-Aliassime did not seem unduly affected by the fact of having conceded the first round. On the contrary. Carried by an incisive first service ball and a nice variety in his shot selection – as was the case the day before against Struff and in his last matches – he destabilized Tsitsipas and quickly took control 3-0 in the second round.
The formidable Greek, however, gave the Quebecer a hard time, who first let three set points slip away at 5-2, before being the victim of a break in the ninth game to narrow the gap to 5-4 . The tennis players then pushed the match to a tiebreaker, and Tsitsipas made sure not to have to play a final set.
Auger-Aliassime outscored his opponent 9-1 in aces, but he also committed three double faults. For his part, Tsitsipas was more formidable with his second service ball, winning 65% of the points in this phase of play – compared to only 16% for Auger-Aliassime.
The Quebecer, who has five career titles on the ATP circuit, also lacked opportunism in a break situation. He only converted one of his seven chances, compared to two in four opportunities for Tsitsipas.
Auger-Aliassime will return to the court later today in doubles alongside his American playing partner Sebastian Korda. They will face the Argentinian Sebastian Baez and the Italian Lorenzo Musetti for the occasion.