Félix Auger-Aliassime progressed to the semifinals of the Paris Masters tennis tournament, gaining valuable points towards qualifying for the ATP Finals. He secured a spot in the final four by defeating wild card Valentin Vacherot of Monaco 6-2, 6-2. Auger-Aliassime is set to face 13th-seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the upcoming round.
This victory brought Auger-Aliassime within 90 points of Lorenzo Musetti in the ATP Finals qualification race. Winning in the semifinals would propel him ahead of the Italian, who was eliminated in the second round in Paris. Prior to this match, Auger-Aliassime had been battling through tough three-set encounters and tiebreaks, while Vacherot was on a 10-match winning streak at the ATP 1000 level, having won the last Masters event in Shanghai.
Despite Vacherot’s strong form, Auger-Aliassime, seeded ninth in Paris, displayed exceptional performance, winning 89% of first-serve points and saving both break points against him. Auger-Aliassime remarked on the challenge of facing Vacherot, acknowledging his opponent’s confidence but emphasizing his own focus and intensity from the start of the match.
Auger-Aliassime limited Vacherot to only 6 return points out of 39 attempts, while he won 49% of his own returns and broke his opponent four times. The Canadian is aiming for his ninth career title and his first at the Masters level.
In a separate matchup, Alexander Bublik advanced to the semifinals by upsetting sixth-seed Alex de Minaur of Australia in a tight 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5 battle. Auger-Aliassime holds a 3-2 career record against Bublik.
On the women’s side, Canadians Victoria Mboko and Leylah Fernandez secured spots in the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open. Fernandez, seeded second, triumphed over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-4, while Mboko, seeded third, advanced due to a walkover against Russian Anna Kalinskaya.
The winner of the Mboko-Fernandez semifinal clash will face either Spain’s Cristina Bucsa or Australia’s Maya Joint in the final. Currently ranked 21st and 22nd in the world, Mboko and Fernandez are poised for an exciting showdown in the upcoming round.
