Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime secured a victory against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Cincinnati Open with a 6-3, 7-5 win in the second round. Despite facing challenges from the wind in the second set and failing to serve out the match at 5-4, Auger-Aliassime, the second seed at the tournament, managed to break back in the following game. He capitalized on his second opportunity to close out the match by hitting his seventh ace on match point.
Auger-Aliassime, who had not played a match in 40 days, mentioned the adverse impact of the wind on his serve, making the ending of the match a bit tricky. However, he expressed relief at regaining the break and serving out the match successfully. The 26-year-old highlighted the significance of this win after a challenging period of health issues following Wimbledon.
This victory marked only the fourth time in 11 matches that Auger-Aliassime has defeated Tsitsipas. The Canadian, who had to withdraw from the National Bank Open due to a back injury, will now face Juan Cerundolo of Argentina in the next round. Cerundolo, with a 1-2 record against Auger-Aliassime, caused an upset by defeating 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech of France 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5).
In the women’s event, qualifier Xiyu Wang from China eliminated 30th-seeded Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, in a challenging match that lasted two hours and two minutes. Wang, aged 25 and formerly ranked 49th in the world, started slowly but picked up momentum in the second set, ultimately securing a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Fernandez. The match statistics showed Wang with 23 winners, 35 unforced errors, two aces, and two double faults, while Fernandez recorded 11 winners, 26 unforced errors, seven double faults, and one ace. Fernandez, who reached the round of 16 at the National Bank Open in Toronto, struggled in both return and service games, winning only three of 12 return games and seven of 12 service games, compared to Wang’s five return game wins and nine service game wins.