Auger-Aliassime through to semis at Qatar Open, setting up rematch with Medvedev
The Canadian Press | Posted: February 23, 2023 9:22 PM | Last Updated: February 23, 2023
Canadian winless in 5 tries against Russian, including loss last week in Rotterdam
Canadian tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 7-6 (5) Thursday at the Qatar Open, setting up a semifinal against nemesis Daniil Medvedev.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded second at the ATP 250 hard court event, fired eight aces and won 86 per cent of first service points in a win over the seventh-seeded Spaniard that took one hour 48 minutes to complete.
The 22-year-old from Montreal faced just two break points in the match, with both coming in Game 6 of the second set. Auger-Aliassime induced Davidovich Fokina into unforced errors to come back from 15-40 and scored a crucial hold to tie the set 3-3.
After an unforced error from Auger-Alissime tied the tiebreaker at 5-5, the Canadian rattled off a pair of winners to improve his 2023 record to 7-3.
Auger-Aliassime scored the only break of the match in Game 9 of the first set before serving for the win.
Next up is Medvedev, the Russian third seed who improved his career record against the Canadian to 5-0 with a 6-2, 6-4 win last week in the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open, a tournament that Auger-Aliassime won in 2022.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime sets up rematch with Medvedev:
Medvedev reached the semis by beating Christopher O'Connell of Australia 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
Andy Murray defeated French qualifier Alexandre Muller 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals later on Thursday.
The 35-year-old Murray will next face Jiri Lehecka after the Czech player upset top-seeded Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion who has had two hip operations, eliminated fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev in the previous round as the Scot seeks his third title in Doha. He's currently ranked 70th.
Fernandez done in Dubai
Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and American partner Bethany Mattek-Sands lost 7-5, 7-5 to Russians Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championship on Thursday.
The Russians won 68 per cent of their first serves, compared to 58 per cent for Fernandez and Mattek-Sands.
Kudermetova and Samsonova will meet the team of Ukraine's Lyudmyla Kichenok and Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals.
Fernandez was bounced from singles play Tuesday, falling 6-1, 6-1 to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland.