Felix Auger-Aliassime has reached the quarterfinals of the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN for the third time in his career. The Canadian, seeded second this year, battled it out with U.S. youngster Learner Tien in a true thriller that lasted over two and a half hours. On his first match point, Auger-Aliassime finally converted the score to 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5).
The match between the fourth-ranked player—the favorite on paper—and his 20-year-old challenger had been eagerly anticipated. The high expectations were not disappointed at the heristo-arena: From the very start, an extremely close match unfolded, featuring many spectacular rallies and several hard-fought service games.
The first set—despite opportunities on both sides—remained without a break and had to be decided in a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, it was the young American who quickly pulled ahead 5–2 and, shortly thereafter, converted the lead to win the set.
In the second set as well, the two players engaged in a high-level duel on equal footing, though the servers on both sides played with even greater confidence than at the start. It wasn’t until the eleventh game that the first break point opportunity arose, which Auger-Aliassime capitalized on with all his class to take a 6–5 lead. One uneventful service game later, the set was tied.
In the decisive third set, it was once again the Canadian who struck first. After a long rally, Auger-Aliassime converted with a thunderous forehand winner to make it 4-3 and celebrated the breakthrough with a clenched fist. His joy didn’t last long, however. After two avoidable errors—a smash and an easy forehand—the lead was immediately gone.
It was inevitable: a decisive tiebreak would determine the outcome. After an early mini-break for Tien, Auger-Aliassime spent a long time playing catch-up before managing to tie the score at 5–5. Just moments later, there was a match point, on which Tien’s shot sailed off the frame and out of bounds.
In the quarterfinals, Auger-Aliassime will face another American right away. On Friday, he’ll take on Frances Tiafoe, who remains undefeated after victories over Flavio Cobolli and Sho Shimabukuro.
