“Almost perfect”: Auger-Aliassime in the Swiss final, now 3-0 against No. 1 Alcaraz | CBC sport

Felix Auger-Aliassime plays some of the best tennis of his career and recent opponents haven’t had an answer for him.

The Montreal native defeated world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 to secure his ticket to Saturday’s Swiss Indoors final.

Next, he will face Holger Rune in Sunday’s finals at 10 a.m. ET, with his sights set on his third straight ATP Tour title. Auger-Aliassime entered the tournament after winning the Firenze Open and European Open in consecutive weeks.

“It’s amazing,” Auger-Aliassime, the third seed in the tournament and world No. 9, said after the game. “I never expected it when I was in Florence three weeks ago or after the US Open. I’m just really happy that all my work is coming together.

“I’ve always believed that I could play like this, that I could be that consistent, but one thing is to believe and the other is to actually do it. It’s nice to feel like that, it’s nice to get out there playing and winning so many games in a row so hopefully that’s just the beginning of seeing me play that way.”

CLOCK | Auger-Aliassime improves career mark to 3-0 against Alcaraz:

It is the second time the Montreal native has defeated Alcaraz since becoming the top-ranked player on the ATP circuit. Auger-Aliassime got the best of the 19-year-old Spaniard in a singles match at the Davis Cup on September 16 while representing Canada.

The Canadian is now 3-0 in career matchups against Alcaraz.

“I served fantastically”

Auger-Aliassime, who has not lost a match at the Astana Open since October 3, has dropped just one set in four games of the tournament so far and has yet to convert a break point against him.

“So far it has been almost perfect [in Basel]’ Auger-Aliassime said in his on-pitch interview. “I pitched amazingly and haven’t broken once. There’s one more match to play but it’s been a fantastic week, [I have] played great tennis and again today against the best player in the world. It’s an amazing win so I’m really happy with my level and I hope I can make it to the end.”

The 22-year-old shot nine aces without committing a double fault in the match. He also won 82 percent of his first-serve points by breaking three of his eight opportunities in the hour and 21-minute game.

Alcaraz finished the game with zero aces and three double faults, failing to capitalize on his only break point chance. He gained 62 percent of his first-serve points.

The match started off as a back and forth as Alcaraz matched Auger-Aliassime in every game he won. After being tied 3-3, Auger-Aliassime won three games in a row to win the set. He hit six of his nine aces in the set.

WATCH l Auger-Aliassime defeats Bublik to reach semifinals:

Auger-Aliassime races into the semi-finals in Switzerland

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime won his 11th straight match 6-2, 6-3 against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel on Friday.

In the second, Auger-Aliassime took a 3-1 lead before Alcaraz reduced the deficit in game five. Auger-Aliassime later made it 5-2 in the seventh game before saving Alcaraz’s only break point chance to win the set and the match.

“Show up game after game and watch my serve,” Auger-Aliassime said after the game. “I think it was quite a nervous start for both of us, but I think I was able to put a lot of pressure on 1/8 on the second serve with my 3/8 return and I think he felt that.

“From then on I was able to take a lot of chances. [In the second set] I got some free points and really put them to good use. in the [world] No. 1 Mode, came back with some great points, had a break point [in the final game] come back a little. It was 0/30 on my serve, so those are good games to win.”

Also on Saturday, Rune defeated sixth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(1) 7-6(6).

Shapovalov wins 95 percent of 1st serve points

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov will advance to the Vienna Open final after beating Borna Coric 7-6(4), 6-0 on Saturday.

The Richmond Hill, Ontario native won an incredible 95 percent of his first serve points and hit seven aces.

Shapovalov also broke three of his four chances.

“Definitely another great game for me,” said Shapovalov. “Of course Borna played some long, difficult matches, so I think the first set was very important.

“I was really happy, I played a great tiebreak. I thought it was very close from both of us. Just one point I think made the difference… Getting the early break in the second set just made me gave it a little bit more energy and, you know, kind of made him lose faith a little bit, but a great game for me.

WATCH l Shapovalov wins second straight game against Coric:

Denis Shapovalov cruises to the final of the Vienna Open

Shapovalov hit his dominant serve to a straight-set win over Borna Coric and a place in the final.

Shapovalov sent the first set into a tiebreak after leveling Coric in every game he won. The Canadian won the first three points in the final set before Coric came back and won four of the next seven. 23-year-old Shapovalov won the set with an ace.

In a dominant second set, Shapovalov broke Coric’s serve in the second game before saving a Coric break point chance in the third. Shapovalov broke again in game four as he kept the Croatian scoreless en route to victory.

World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev will be Shapovalov’s next opponent on Sunday as he seeks to win his second career title and first of the year. Medvedev is 3-2 in his career against Shapovalov.

“It’s a good opportunity for me to play against a guy like Daniil,” said Shapovalov. “[I] I’ve beaten him a couple of times – but he’s a great player.

“I mean, he’s playing tremendously. The last couple of times he’s caught me and he’s very tricky. He’s having a great week. He’s played well here all the time so it’s going to be a tough fight but I’m looking forward to it. ” “

Swiatek, Gauff in the same group at the WTA Finals

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek meets American Coco Gauff in a rematch of her French Open final after the two met for the round-robin phase of the WTA Finals, which begins Monday in Fort Worth, Texas. were drawn into the same group.

Roland Garros and US Open champions Swiatek (21) and Gauff (18) – the two youngest players in the field – were joined by Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina in the Tracy Austin group following the draw for the season-ending tournament.

Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the second-ranked player in the world, led the Nancy Richey group, where she was joined by Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka.

The top two players in each group advance to the semifinals on November 6, with the final list being determined the following day.

Spain’s Garbine Muguruza has won the 2021 edition of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.