Felix Downs Murray In Rotterdam
Third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime continued his title charge at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament on Thursday with a statement win over former World No. 1 Andy Murray.
The Canadian, who reached the final in Rotterdam in 2020, overcame the Scottish wild card 6-3, 6-4 in a dominant performance to advance into the quarter-finals after one hour and 37 minutes.
“From the start of the match I was ready and focused and I think that is why I was able to produce a high level from the first point,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview. “He made me bring out my best tennis and I am really happy with the way I played and that I was able to stay ahead. [To] win in straight sets is a great relief.”
Auger-Aliassime is making his fourth appearance at the ATP 500 event and arrived in Rotterdam off the back of a personal-best run to the last eight at the Australian Open, where he lost to finalist Daniil Medvedev.
[FOLLOW ACTION]The 21-year-old played with confidence throughout against Murray, stepping inside the baseline as he pulled the 34-year-old from corner to corner with his heavy hitting to improve to 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.
In an entertaining match, Auger-Aliassime flew out of the blocks, roaring into a 4-0 lead as Murray struggled to deal with the World No. 9’s consistent power and accuracy. After clinching the first set, breaks were exchanged at the start of the second set, before the Canadian gained further control by breaking again in the fifth game as he demonstrated great footwork to dictate with his forehand. The third seed then sealed his win with a forehand volley.
The eight-time tour-level finalist is now 9-3 on the season after he helped guide Canada to the ATP Cup title in January. Auger-Aliassime will next face sixth seed Cameron Norrie.
Murray lifted the trophy in Rotterdam in 2009 and was aiming to record his third consecutive Top 10 win, having defeated Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner in Vienna and Stockholm respectively last year.