Felix Auger-Aliassime is into the quarterfinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha after beating the Australian Jason Kubler 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in two hours and 17 minutes.
The Montreal native served 15 aces and won 80% of his first serve points in a match where he was able to recover from being a set down against a player who beat him last time.
“He got me the last time in a tight match,” Auger-Aliassime said after his latest win. “So for me, it was important to even things out and it’s tough to play someone who’s beaten you before to play with confidence but I played some good tennis. I didn’t get off to a good start but got better as the match went on”.
The first set stayed on serve until 1-1 when the Aussie earned two chances to break and broke the Canadian serve on his second opportunity. That break of serve was enough for him to serve out the first set.
The second frame was where the number two seed fight back. At 2-1 he broke the Brisbane native and turned that break into a double break en route to easily winning the middle set where he dropped just one game.
With the match even at a set apiece, the third set stayed on serve until 2-1. Once again when the Canadian got the early break and that was enough for him to serve out the match and get the win.
After the match in his on-court interview, Auger-Aliassime was asked about his remarkable 16-match win streak and how that affected him personally.
“After the US Open, I was trying to finish the year strong and I was trying to win a lot of matches which I did. The streak was nothing I expected really and it was amazing. I don’t know if I’ll be able to repeat”. He said.
Auger-Aliassime, who is the number two seed, is placed at the bottom of the draw and will face the winner of the match between Soon Woo Kwon and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
