Auger-Aliassime converts 6th MP in Dubai opener, Wawrinka wins
Felix Auger-Aliassime is back at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships determined to go one step further than last year, and the top seed made a confident start to his 2026 campaign on Monday, despite needing six match points to cross the line.
The No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings moved past Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 7-(4) to launch his title bid at the ATP 500 event. Twelve months ago, Auger-Aliassime advanced to the Dubai final before falling to an inspired Stefanos Tsitsipas, and the Canadian is once again among the favourites.
“I stopped counting at some point, it was getting too frustrating,” Auger-Aliassime said of the missed match points. “Having match points is the position you want to be in as a player, but it’s weird how the mind plays a trick on you. How much further I am from losing than he is, he should be the one that’s tight. But I told myself ‘If there is a third set, I’ll be there’.”
Since retiring from his first-round clash with Nuno Borges at the Australian Open in January, Auger-Aliassime has rediscovered some of his best form. He has won nine of his past 10 matches, lifting the trophy in Montpellier before finishing runner-up in Rotterdam.
With his speed and crafty court coverage, Auger-Aliassime saved all four break points he faced against Zhang, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 25-year-old then missed two match points on return at 5-4 and three at 6-5 in the second set, but produced a clinical response in the tie-break.
Competing as the top seed at an event above ATP 250 level for the first time, Auger-Aliassime will next face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who earlier snapped his five-match tour-level losing streak. The big-serving French qualifier defeated Tunisian wild card Moez Echargui 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(4) to earn his first win since reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland in January.
In other action on Monday, 2016 Dubai winner Stan Wawrinka earned his sixth consecutive opening-round win by defeating Benjamin Hassan 7-5, 6-3. Roger Federer, the tournament’s record eight-time champion, was in attendance to watch his countryman.
With the victory, Wawrinka also improved to 10 tour-level wins since turning 40 — the most by any player in that age group in the Open Era. The Swiss will next face third seed and 2023 champion Daniil Medvedev or Shang Juncheng.
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