(Rome) Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime erased a 5-1 deficit in the second set and eventually defeated Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-6 (6), Saturday, in a first round match at the Rome tournament.
Auger-Aliassime, 18e seeded, had benefited from a bye in the first round. He played his first match since last Sunday, when he lost to Andrey Rublev in the final of the Madrid Open.
This performance in Spain allowed him to climb to 20e global level.
Van de Zandschulp, 112e world racket, also offered him strong opposition and Auger-Aliassime had to draw on his resources to win at the end of a match lasting almost 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime won the first set in 39 minutes, breaking his rival’s serve in the fourth and sixth games.
Between the two, he saved three break points in the fifth game to maintain his advantage.
The first set ended when van de Zandschulp sent a return serve into the net.
PHOTO CLAUDIA GRECO, REUTERS
Botic van de Zandschulp
Auger-Aliassime had difficulty gaining points on his second ball at the start of the second set. Van de Zandschulp took the opportunity to finally break the Quebecer’s serve in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead, when Auger-Aliassime missed a drop shot.
Van de Zandschulp did it again during the Quebecer’s next game on serve, giving himself a 5-1 lead.
Serving for the set, the Dutchman erased three break points, then wasted a set point before conceding the break on the fourth opportunity.
History repeated itself two games later, when Auger-Aliassime managed to return to an even serve by once again breaking van de Zandschulp’s serve on a slightly long ball from the Dutchman.
After a fourth game in a row won by Auger-Aliassime, van de Zandschulp stopped the bleeding to take a 6-5 lead. He then got a second set point on Auger-Aliassime’s serve at 5-6, but he was quickly overwhelmed and a tiebreaker was ultimately necessary.
Auger-Aliassime squandered a 4-2 lead during the tiebreaker, then a match point at 6-5. However, he converted his second opportunity to close the books with a smash.
In the next round, Auger-Aliassime will face Australian and ninth seed Alex de Minaur.