Canada's Auger-Aliassime beats Taberner, advances to Estoril Open quarter-finals
Top seed Canadian recovers from 1st set struggles
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarterfinals of the Estoril Open tennis tournament with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Spain's Carlos Taberner on Thursday in Portugal.
Auger-Aliassime, the top seed at the ATP 250 clay-court event, struggled in the first set, winning just 38 per cent of first-serve points despite being accurate on his first serve 91 per cent of the time. He saved just one of the four break-point chances he faced.
The match turned around in the second set when Auger-Aliassime won 60 per cent of service points and 58 per cent of return points while breaking Taberner three times on six chances.
Auger-Aliassime saved his best set for last, winning 92 per cent of first-serve points and 84 per cent of service points overall. He did not face break point in the third set, and converted two of the five break-point chances he had against Taberner.
WATCH l Felix Auger-Aliassime advances at Estoril Open:
Auger-Aliassime improved his career record to 2-0 over Taberner, with both wins coming this year.
The Canadian will face Sebastian Korda of the United States on Friday.