Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime marked a successful comeback on the court by defeating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. Despite facing challenges with the wind during the match, Auger-Aliassime, the second seed at the tournament, managed to secure the victory after a tough battle in the second set.
The 26-year-old struggled to serve out the match when leading 5-4 but eventually broke back in the following game. He capitalized on his second chance to close out the game, sealing the win with his seventh ace on match point. Auger-Aliassime acknowledged the difficult conditions caused by the wind, especially after a 40-day break from competitive play since Wimbledon.
Having faced Tsitsipas multiple times in their career, Auger-Aliassime celebrated his fourth victory out of 11 encounters with the Greek player. Following his triumph, the Canadian will now prepare to take on Juan Cerundolo of Argentina in the upcoming match. Cerundolo, who recently defeated 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech of France, poses a challenging opponent with a 1-2 record against Auger-Aliassime.
In a separate women’s event on Sunday, Chinese qualifier Xiyu Wang overcame 30th-seeded Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, in a hard-fought battle that lasted two hours and two minutes. Wang, aged 25 and previously ranked 49th in the world, displayed a strong performance after a slow start against Fernandez. The match ended with Wang recording 23 winners, 35 unforced errors, two aces, and two double faults, while Fernandez managed 11 winners, 26 unforced errors, seven double faults, and one ace.
Fernandez, who had a notable performance reaching the round of 16 at the National Bank Open in Toronto, struggled to secure key points, winning only three out of 12 return games and seven out of 12 service games. On the other hand, Wang demonstrated better efficiency, winning five out of 12 return games and nine out of 12 service games.
