Auger-Aliassime moves closer to Turin following Paris QF win
Felix Auger-Aliassime moved to within 145 points of Lorenzo Musetti in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin on Friday, when he ended the run of French wild card Valentin Vacherot to reach the semi-finals at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Vacherot had won his past 10 ATP Masters 1000 matches, highlighted by his fairytale victory in the Shanghai final earlier this month. However, he was unable to cope with Auger-Aliassime’s weight of shot and intensity in Paris, where the ninth seed earned a 6-2, 6-2 win to reach his fourth Masters 1000 semi-final.
“Every opponent is different. It was an interesting challenge coming onto court today and playing a player I knew from practice but had never played in a match. He is so confident and you are kind of scared to be honest,” Auger-Aliassime said. “You are not sure if he has got some magic right now that nobody else has but he is playing unbelievably. But I had to be so focused from the start and this level of intensity from the first game I brought helped ease me into the match and I played some good tennis.”
Auger-Aliassime rallied from a set down in his first three matches in the French capital but was in control from early on in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting against Vacherot. The 25-year-old, who broke Vacherot’s serve in the opening game, has reached 10 tour-level semi-finals this season, lifting trophies in Adelaide, Montpellier and Brussels.
Auger-Aliassime will next meet Alex de Minaur or Alexander Bublik. The eight-time tour-level titlist is 145 points behind Musetti in the Live Race To Turin and will leapfrog the Italian if he reaches the final. Auger-Aliassime is chasing his second appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, having qualified in 2022.
He struck 22 winners and committed 10 unforced errors in his win against Vacherot and is 47-21 on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
“I am trying to win every match I play,” Auger-Aliassime added. “Whether it is the end of the year or start of the year, everything counts and adds up in this sport. I think the work I put in, the routines. I try to be consistent with my work and try to bring consistency with everything I do and it is very gratifying when you get the consistency with your results.”
Vacherot stunned the tennis world when he won in Shanghai to become the lowest-ranked player in history to win a Masters 1000 title. The Monegasque star is up 10 spots to No. 30 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after his quarter-final run in Paris.
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