Auger-Aliassime’s Win Streak Ends in Paris Masters Second Round

Felix Auger-Aliassime’s win streak has come to an end. 

After a strong first-round victory at the Paris Masters, the Canadian came up short in a valiant effort against seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

The match concluded in the Greek’s favor by a score of 6-3, 7-6(4). 

Even in the loss, Auger-Aliassime’s serve remained powerful, recording nine aces and scoring 78 per cent of his first serve points. 

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In the first set, Tsitsipas converted a single break point to create separation between himself and Auger-Aliassime. It wound up being the only major blip of the Canadian’s set, leading to him fall behind early. 

Aside from the break point, the first set was quite even. Tsitstipas won 68 per cent of his first serve points while Auger-Aliassime scored 67 per cent of his. The Greek was stronger on his second serve points, ultimately contributing to his initial lead. 

Once the second set began, Auger-Aliassime seemed reinvigorated. He took the first three games to jump out to an early lead before eventually bringing it to a set point in the eighth game at 5-3. Tsitsipas, unwilling to let the match go to a third set, scored a break point and followed it up by holding serve to even it out at 5-5. 

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The two went on to holdtheir respective serves to bring the set into a tiebreaker. Auger-Aliassime got off to an early lead in the breaker, but Tsitsipas bounced back quickly. Tied at a 2 a piece, Tsitsipas and Auger-Aliassime exchanged minibreaks to keep it tied 3-3. The Greek secured another minibreak to give himself a 5-3 lead, and despite Auger-Aliassime’s best efforts, he only scored once more before Tsitsipas eventually won the set and the match. 

Despite the loss, Auger-Aliassime continues to show his resilience and perseverance in an otherwise inconsistent year. His next opportunity to come up big will be at the 2023 Davis Cup where he and the rest of Team Canada will look to win back-to-back trophies.