Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime marked his successful comeback to the court by defeating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. Auger-Aliassime, the second seed at the Masters-level tournament, encountered difficulties with the wind during the second set and faltered while serving for the match at 5-4. However, the 26-year-old managed to break back in the following game and capitalized on his second opportunity to close out the match, sealing the victory with his seventh ace on match point.
Reflecting on the challenging conditions, Auger-Aliassime, who played his first match in 40 days, commented, “It got really windy. The wind was pushing against me. I felt like I had no power in my serve. It was a tricky ending, but luckily I was able to get the break back. I was able to come back and serve it out better, with the wind this time. It got tricky in the end but overall, for someone who hasn’t played since Wimbledon — obviously it’s been a tough few weeks health-wise. But I’m happy to be back with a win like this, it’s great.”
Auger-Aliassime’s victory over Tsitsipas was only his fourth win against the Greek player in 11 matches. Following his withdrawal from the National Bank Open due to a back injury, the Canadian will now face Juan Cerundolo from Argentina in the next round. Cerundolo, who holds a 1-2 record against Auger-Aliassime, caused an upset by defeating 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech of France 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) on Sunday.
In the women’s event later that day, 30th seed Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, took on China’s Wang Xiyu in a highly anticipated match.
For more details, you can refer to the original article [here](https://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/cincinnati-open-canadians-recap-aug16-9.7309246).
