Follow the final of the Madrid tournament between Auger-Aliassime and Rublev live from 12:30 p.m. Sunday, on RDS2 and at RDS.ca.
Whether the element of luck had a lot to do with it or not, Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime is preparing to play the first final of his career in Masters 1000, Sunday, in Madrid.
For the occasion, Auger-Aliassime will do battle with Russian Andrey Rublev, who defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
“FAA” benefited from two retirements in the middle of the match, including that of the Czech Jiri Lehecka at 3-3 in the first set, in the semi-final. And above all, he did not have to play in the quarters since the Italian Jannik Sinner was forced to withdraw.
Never mind, the 23-year-old tennis player has the opportunity to do very well in the ATP rankings, from which he fell due to lack of results during the last year.
Excluded from the top seeds in Madrid due to his 35th place on the world stage, Auger-Aliassime showed excellent health during his victory against the 5th seed, the Norwegian Casper Ruud, whom he defeated 6-4 , 7-5 in 8th
For his part, Rublev seemed convincing in his final four duel, dominating the American Taylor Fritz in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. However, he had a rather ordinary start to the season on clay, with a quick outing in Monte-Carlo, in particular.
The last clash between the two finalists dates back to February, on hard court in the second round during the indoor tournament in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
Auger-Aliassime then wasted three consecutive match points in the second set, before losing a tough duel 6-3, 6-7, 5-7.
