Félix Auger-Aliassime shines a few days before the Australian Open

Félix Auger-Aliassime qualified for the semi-finals of the Adelaide tournament on Thursday. A nice performance that comes at just the right time for the Quebecer just a few days before the start of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, which begins on Saturday.

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By beating the American Marcos Giron, 45^e world, by the score of 7-6 (3) and 6-3, Félix has at the same time returned to the final four of a tournament for the first time since the Paris Olympic Games, last August. He reaches this stage of a competition for the 29^e times since his debut on the ATP.

The match against Giron, despite the victory in two sets, was not, however, just a game of pleasure. To get by, the 29th^e player in the world, fifth seeded in Adelaide, an ATP 250 category tournament, had to erase no less than nine break points.

And what’s coming won’t get any simpler. In the semi-final, on the night of Thursday to Friday (around 12:30 a.m. Eastern time), Aliassime will face another American, Tommy Paul, who if he wins will reach the top 10 of the ATP for the first time in his career.

Paul, who defeated Quebecer Gabriel Diallo in the third round of the last US Open, in an electrifying match, is currently ranked 12^e.

Six match points saved

The two players crossed swords two years ago, in Indian Wells, and Auger-Aliassime escaped by winning the tiebreaker of the final round.

“I had to save match points [six au total]remembered Félix, whose comments were taken up by the official ATP website. But it’s been a while. It’s good to come up against players who are in the top 10, or very close. It allows me to see where my game is at.”

In this regard, the 24-year-old athlete need not be embarrassed at the start of the campaign. Last week, at the United Cup, he beat American Taylor Fritz (yes, another one), ranked fourth in the world.

“I have confidence in my game,” the Montrealer also pointed out. I’ve been playing good tennis since the start of the season.”