Carlos Alcaraz was no match for Auger-Aliassime as the Canadian rolls past world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in straight-sets
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Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal fired nine aces without committing a double fault in defeating world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 in semifinal play at the Swiss Indoors on Saturday in Basel
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Felix Auger-Aliassime is playing some of the best tennis of his career and recent opponents have had no answer for him.
The Montreal native defeated world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 to book his ticket to the Swiss Indoors final on Saturday.
He will next play Holger Rune in Sunday’s final at 10 a.m. ET with eyes on his third consecutive ATP Tour title. Auger-Aliassime entered the tournament having won the Firenze Open and European Open in back-to-back weeks.
“It’s amazing,” Auger-Aliassime, the third seed in the tournament and No. 9 in the world, said after the match. “I never expected it, when I was in Florence three weeks ago, or after the U.S. Open. I’m just really happy that all my work is coming together.
“I’ve always believed that I can play this way, that I can be consistent in that way, but one thing is to believe and the other is to actually do it. It’s nice to feel that way, it’s nice to come out on the court and win that many matches in a row, so hopefully this is just the beginning of seeing me play this way.”
Rune’s Late Heroics Seal Basel Final Spot, Top 20 Debut
Down 2/6 in a second-set tie-break, Holger Rune could have turned his attention to a decider on Saturday at the Swiss Indoors Basel. But the #NextGenATP Dane instead won the final six points of the match to defeat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(1), 7-6(8) and advance to his second straight ATP Tour final.
By stretching his winning streak to nine matches, Rune also set himself up for his Top 20 debut in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Entering the ATP 500 at a career-high of World No. 25, last week’s Stockholm champion has moved up an additional seven places in the Live Rankings to No. 18, and could rise as high as No. 16 by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in Sunday’s final.
“It was brutal. It was a very tough match and really long rallies,” the 19-year-old said after two hours on court. “He played some very solid tennis, very aggressive with his forehand. I just tried to play as aggressive as I could, take every chance I got to follow [my shots] forward to the net and just focus on my serve.
“I think I managed the nerves well, especially the second set was super tough. I thought we were going to three sets but I’m happy that I managed to stay focused.”
Rune fired 46 winners and 11 aces as he continued his blistering form, and saved seven break points to maintain his perfect record on serve this week. He has saved 11 break points in Basel across 41 service games.
The victory against the Spanish sixth seed sets up a mouthwatering final between two of the hottest players on the ATP Tour. Auger-Aliassime, who scored a convincing win against World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz earlier on Saturday, has also been perfect on serve in Basel. He seeking his third straight title and 13th consecutive match win after triumphs in Florence and Antwerp.
