Felix Auger-Aliassime ousts Vacherot to reach semifinals of Paris Masters

PARIS: Felix Auger-Aliassime cruised to a straight-sets victory over Valentin Vacherot on Friday to reach the Paris Masters semifinals and keep his bid to qualify for the ATP Finals alive.

The Canadian had come from a set down in all three of his previous matches at the La Defense Arena but eased past surprise Shanghai Masters champion Vacherot 6-2, 6-2.

Auger-Aliassime will face Kazakh Alexander Bublik who beat Australian sixth seed Alex de Minaur 6-7, 6-4, 7-5.

He could overhaul Lorenzo Musetti for the eighth and last ATP Finals berth by reaching the final, although Daniil Medvedev and Bublik also remain in the hunt.

“He (Vacherot) is so confident and you are kind of scared to be honest,” Auger-Aliassime said. “You are not sure if he has got some magic right now that nobody else has but he is playing unbelievably.

“I had to be so focused from the start and this level of intensity from the first game I brought helped ease me into the match and I played some good tennis.”

Vacherot’s remarkable run of 10 successive wins in Masters events came to an end. He won the Shanghai tournament earlier this month as a 204th-ranked qualifier.

The Monegasque is still set to break into the world’s top 30 after another impressive performance in Paris as a wildcard.

Auger-Aliassime broke in a marathon opening game and went on to dominate the rest of the first set.

Vacherot appeared to be finding his feet early in the second set, but was broken twice in as many service games and slipped 5-2 behind. He managed to bring up two break points, his first of the match, in the next game, but Auger-Aliassime saved both before successfully holding to close out victory.

Moreover, the third seed Alexander Zverev beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina  6-2, 6-4. Agencies

Also Read: US Open: Felix Auger-Aliassime fights past Alex de Minaur