Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime secured a hard-fought 7-6 (7), 6-7 (4), 6-3 victory over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the opening round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
The Montreal native fired eight aces alongside five double faults and claimed 77% of his first-serve points. He capitalized on three of 17 break opportunities in the two-hour, 49-minute battle.
Bublik, who delivered 16 aces but also registered seven double faults, managed to win 66% of his first-serve points and converted just one of his seven break chances.
After splitting the first two sets, Auger-Aliassime found himself trailing 2-1 in the third before shifting momentum. The 24-year-old broke Bublik in the fifth and ninth games, clinching victory by winning five of the final six games in the set.
Auger-Aliassime now moves on to face Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who advanced with a commanding 6-2, 6-1 win over France’s Arthur Fils.
Source: Swifteradio.com
