Felix Auger Aliassime managed to pick up another victory after winning the 1st round of Japan Open season in Tokyo against Aleksandar Vukic.
The Canadian tennis player appeared strong when he crushed the Austrian tennis player, Sebastian Ofner, 6-4, 6-1 in the second round of the Japan Open.
The world number 17 arrives in Tokyo having won just two matches in his last 11 tournaments. The last time he won back-to-back matches was at Indian Wells in March, when he advanced to the quarterfinals.
However, the 23-year-old tennis player ensured that this bad record ended in Tokyo after he showed a good game against Ofner in 1 hour 35 minutes. He came back from behind with a chance to break in a fairly tight first set before cruising through the second, including snatching the last six games.
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“I needed a result like this,” admitted Felix Auger Aliassime. “I trust my game and I trust myself that I still have it in me to win at this level. I’ve done that before, but it’s about doing it, having a lot of confidence, and staying positive. I’m happy that my level of play translated into the game after the last few months.”
Advancing to his fifth quarter-final this season, Auger Aliassime will face American Marcos Giron. To date, the Canadian national has dominated their head to head with 3-0, including winning their last meeting in Halle for the 2022 season.
In other action, Zhang Zhizhen’s revenge mission ended well against Hubert Hurkacz. The Polish tennis player beat the Chinese national at the Shanghai Open last week, but the Chinese tennis player ensured that history did not repeat itself at the Japan Open this week.
Zhang hit 10 aces, won 76 percent of his first serve points, and broke Hurkacz’s serve three times en route to a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory.
The 27 year old tennis player is currently enjoying the best season of his career, including bagging his 19th win of the season. He became the first Chinese player to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid earlier this season and in July, he rose to 52nd in the world rankings. He also beat Casper Ruud at the US Open, becoming the first Chinese male tennis player to beat a player ranked in the top 5.
In the second round of the Japan Open, Zhang will meet Aslan Karatsev who beat sixth seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-6.
