Quebec's Félix Auger-Aliassime overcame some difficulties in the second set to defeat France's Quentin Halys on Wednesday, winning 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of the Marseille tennis tournament.
“FAA” had to erase a break point in the last game to confirm his victory against his rival, achieved in 1 hour and 18 minutes, after receiving an invitation from the organizers.
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The winner took the opponent's service game three times on five occasions. The competition's seventh seed hit eight aces, two fewer than the loser ranked 101st in the world. Overall, the maple leaf athlete collected 60% of the contested points.
Auger-Aliassime will face China's Zhizhen Zhang, holder of the 50th place in the ATP, in the second round. The 23-year-old athlete, who occupies the 28th level of the circuit, has competed in two career finals in Marseille in 2020 and 2022.
The top four favorites for the event, in order Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov, Karen Kachanov and Ugo Humbert, are still in the running.