Félix Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev fought a fierce battle in the second round of the Rotterdam tennis tournament in the Netherlands on Wednesday.
After two hours and 36 minutes, it was finally the Russian who won in three sets with 3:6, 7:6(6) and 7:5.
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On the 11th point of the final set, the fifth player in the world took the lead. He broke “FAA” for the first time ever in the game, on his fifth break point of the game. The winner then took the balls back and didn't miss his chance to end the hostilities.
This was the fifth meeting between the two men on the ATP circuit. Rublev has now experienced the joy of victory four times against the 28th place in the world rankings.
Auger-Aliassime had an impressive 20 aces in total and won 80% of the contested rallies with his first serve ball. He defeated his rival once in five times, which allowed him to win in the first round. “FAA” managed 42 winning shots, while his opponent only managed 22.
In the quarterfinals Rublev will face Australian Alex de Minaur. The latter is the event's fifth seed, while the Russian is the second seed.
In addition, only one Canadian is taking part in Rotterdam. This is Milos Raonic, who defeated Alexander Bublik and reached the quarterfinals.