Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime had to battle to break Frances Tiafoe on Sunday at the US Open, reaching the quarter-finals with a hard-earned 4-6 6-2 7-6(6) 6-4 win.
But it was Tiafoe who started the better, shutting down Auger-Aliassime to take the first set.
Auger-Aliassime, two years younger than Tiafoe at 21, didn’t take long to level it up, taking the second, winning all but one of his first-serve points.
In a game of cat and mouse between these two young guns, the Canadian hit four aces in the third set as Tiafoe, with the backing of a partisan New York crowd, fought back.
Tiafoe went 3-1 up in a tiebreak before Auger-Aliassime battled back to take the final three points and the set.
Tiafoe said after the match there was little to choose between them.
Auger-Aliassime didn’t have its all his own way in the fourth; he fought off three break points to hold serve, and then won the match with a a superb forehand shot.
“It was a tough start for me – a lot of nerves,” he said.
“I played a great second set and then the third set was almost a coin toss.”
As for Auger-Aliassime, his next opponent is 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest male player to reach the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows in the Open era.
“He’s a great player. At some point, age is just a number and he already feels like a player that’s established,” Auger-Aliassime said.
Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…
Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…
Novak Djokovic returned to action after waiting tow days to play as the rain-hit Shanghai…
Stan Wawrinka may have been inadvertently short-changed during Monday's third-round loss at the Shanghai Masters…
Jannik Sinner schooled Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to win his second Grand Slam title…
Aryana Sabalenka completed a Grand Slam title hat-trick on Saturday as she fought from 5-3…