Spoiler:
Canadian will next face Cressy or Medvedev
Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first on Monday with an impressive 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over Croatian Marin Cilic.
The young Canadian, who is making his third appearance in Melbourne, recovered from a slow start to earn his first win against the 27th seed after three hours and 39 minutes.
The 2014 US Open champion Cilic struck the ball cleanly early on, firing 14 winners in the first set as he broke Auger-Aliassime twice to move ahead.
You May Also Like: Preview: De Minaur Braces For Sinner’s ‘Immense Firepower’
Auger-Aliassime needed to find a way to stop his opponent’s momentum, and he did so by staying solid as the Croatian’s level began to drop. Cilic made just 45 per cent of first serves across the second and third sets as the World No. 9 won them both.
Despite hitting only 38 winners to the powerful Croatian’s 61, ATP Cup-winning captain Auger-Aliassime stayed in control on serve, hitting 22 aces and facing no break points in sets two, three and four. His consistency was enough to outlast the Croatian as he reached a third consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final.
With his victory, Auger-Aliassime has improved his ATP Head2Head series against Cilic to 1-3 and now faces either World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev or American Maxime Cressy in the last eight.
Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first on Monday with an impressive 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over Croatian Marin Cilic.
The young Canadian, who is making his third appearance in Melbourne, recovered from a slow start to earn his first win against the 27th seed after three hours and 39 minutes.
The 2014 US Open champion Cilic struck the ball cleanly early on, firing 14 winners in the first set as he broke Auger-Aliassime twice to move ahead.
You May Also Like: Preview: De Minaur Braces For Sinner’s ‘Immense Firepower’
Auger-Aliassime needed to find a way to stop his opponent’s momentum, and he did so by staying solid as the Croatian’s level began to drop. Cilic made just 45 per cent of first serves across the second and third sets as the World No. 9 won them both.
Despite hitting only 38 winners to the powerful Croatian’s 61, ATP Cup-winning captain Auger-Aliassime stayed in control on serve, hitting 22 aces and facing no break points in sets two, three and four. His consistency was enough to outlast the Croatian as he reached a third consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final.
With his victory, Auger-Aliassime has improved his ATP Head2Head series against Cilic to 1-3 and now faces either World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev or American Maxime Cressy in the last eight.