Félix Auger-Aliassime survived a first-round scare at Roland-Garros on Tuesday, overcoming Germany's Daniel Altmaier in a five-set match that lasted over four hours. The Canadian, seeded fourth, came back from a break down in the final set to win 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7), according to multiple reports.
How did Auger-Aliassime win the match?
He won by mounting a comeback in the deciding fifth set. After trading sets with Altmaier, Auger-Aliassime fell behind 4-1 in the final set before fighting back to force a match tiebreak, as reported by The Lethbridge Herald. The Canadian ultimately secured the victory in the tiebreak, which concluded a marathon match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, according to the official Roland-Garros website.
Why was this a significant victory?
The win prevented Auger-Aliassime from becoming the highest-seeded player to be eliminated in the opening round. Altmaier, ranked No. 57, has a history of defeating top players at the French Open, having previously beaten seeds like Taylor Fritz, Jannik Sinner, and Matteo Berrettini on the Parisian clay, the Roland-Garros tournament site notes. Auger-Aliassime is the first Canadian man to be seeded in the top four at a Grand Slam since Milos Raonic in 2017.
What comes next for the Canadian?
Auger-Aliassime will face Roman Andres Burruchaga of Argentina in the second round. The match moves him one step closer to improving on his previous performances at the French Open, where this is just the third time he has advanced past the first round, according to the Roland-Garros website.
Fellow Canadian Victoria Mboko also advanced to the second round in the women's draw, while Denis Shapovalov was eliminated from the men's singles competition, The Lethbridge Herald reported.
Sources
- Roland-Garros: Auger-Aliassime survives Altmaier in five
- The Lethbridge Herald: Seeded Canadians Mboko, Auger-Aliassime advance to French Open second round
- Puntodebreak.com: Auger-Aliassime pulls off epic win to defeat Altmaier
- Devdiscourse: Thrills and Upsets: A Dramatic Day at the French Open
- Sportsnet: Auger-Aliassime closes out tiebreak to win marathon at French Open
Reported from public sources.