Canada's Best: Felix Sets Raonic Meeting In Montreal
Canada’s Best: Felix Sets Raonic Meeting In Montreal
Felix Auger-Aliassime notched his 36th career match win on Tuesday at the Coupe Rogers, and nearly 10 per cent of those wins have come against his Montreal opponent, countryman Vasek Pospisil.
The 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who has a birthday on Thursday, fought off nerves and fed off his home crowd to advance 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(3) against the 29-year-old Pospisil, who’s still on the comeback from January back surgery.
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Neither player faced a break point in the decider, but Auger-Aliassime gained momentum after overcoming a 0/30 deficit at 4-4 in the final set. He ran away in the tie-break, improving to 2-1 in Canada when Pospisil lifted a forehand long.
The #NextGenATP Canadian will next meet Canada’s No. 1 Milos Raonic, who reached the 2013 Montreal final. Auger-Aliassime is currently in 11th place in the ATP Race To London. The top eight will qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 10-17 November.
Argentine Guido Pella scored a 6-4, 7-6(4) upset against 15th seed David Goffin. The left-handed Pella won the third-most matches on clay this year, but is increasingly showing he can excel on any surface. The 29-year-old reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals last month. He will next meet Moldovan Radu Albot, who beat Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-2.