Félix Auger-Aliassime secured a spot in the semifinals of the Paris Masters tennis tournament and gained valuable points toward qualifying for the ATP Finals. His 6-2, 6-2 victory over wildcard entrant Valentin Vacherot propelled him into the next round where he will meet 13th-seed Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan.
This win brought Auger-Aliassime within 90 points of Lorenzo Musetti in the race for the final spot at the upcoming ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. Auger-Aliassime’s strong performance in the semifinals could potentially surpass Musetti, who exited the Paris tournament in the second round.
Auger-Aliassime, the ninth seed in Paris, faced a tough opponent in Vacherot, who was on an impressive 10-match winning streak at the ATP 1000 level. Despite this, Auger-Aliassime showcased exceptional form, dominating with an 89% first-serve points won and successfully saving both break points against him.
Reflecting on the match, Auger-Aliassime acknowledged the challenge posed by Vacherot’s confidence but emphasized his own focus and intensity from the outset, leading to a solid performance on the court. He managed to limit Vacherot to only 6 out of 39 return points, while securing 49% of his own returns and breaking his opponent four times.
Auger-Aliassime, aiming for his ninth career title and first at the Masters level, is set to face Bublik in the semifinals, with a previous 3-2 record in his favor against the Kazakh player.
In the women’s competition, Canadians Victoria Mboko and Leylah Fernandez will meet in the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open after both securing victories in their quarterfinal matches. Fernandez, seeded second, triumphed over Sorana Cirstea from Romania with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-4, while Mboko, seeded third, advanced due to a walkover against Russian player Anna Kalinskaya.
The winner of the Mboko-Fernandez clash will advance to face either Spain’s Cristina Bucsa or Australia’s Maya Joint in the final. Mboko and Fernandez are currently ranked 21st and 22nd in the world rankings, respectively.
