Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime proved too strong for former champion Andy Murray, cutting short the Briton's Grand Slam comeback at the U.S. Open with a breezy 6-2 6-3 6-4 victory in the second round on Thursday.
Before the start of the match, the
20-year-old Auger-Aliassime had said he would look to be aggressive against his
three-time Grand Slam winning opponent.
The Canadian lived up to his promise and
went on the offensive from the start, dominating rallies from the baseline and
making the 2012 U.S. Open champion, who has twice had hip surgery, move all
around the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded 15th, has had
problems with his serve and unforced errors in the past but it was almost a near
perfect outing in his debut appearance on the center court, which had its roof
closed due to rain.
He did not face a single breakpoint on his
serve, hit 24 aces and an incredible 52 winners compared to the nine managed by
the Scot, who was playing his first Grand Slam since the 2019 Australian Open.
"It's an amazing feeling. I wish the
fans were here but ... it's funny, life is funny because I came here in 2011, I
got tickets for a match and I watched Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez playing
third round here," Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview.
"So it's crazy that nine years later
I'm here playing him and getting a win."
Auger-Aliassime said he worked hard on his
serve during the lengthy shutdown for the professional tour due to COVID-19 and
his efforts paid off against Murray.
Murray had rallied from two sets down to
beat Yoshihito Nishioka in four hours and 39 minutes in his opening round but
did not have the strength or stamina to script another comeback and suffered
four breaks of serve in the match.
The Scot is tied’ at 10 with Roger Federer
for the number of comeback victories after going down by two sets but despite
the constant muttering to himself to find some energy and motivation; he could
not shift to a higher level on Thursday.
"At the back of your mind you know
you're facing Andy Murray. Even though you're up 2-0, you always think 'I gotta
get this break or this lead' because you never know how he can start playing
well and come back," the Canadian said.
"You never know what tricks he's got
in his pocket. To close it out, it's not easy because you're facing a great
champion. It's not an everyday second round."
In the next round, Auger-Aliassime will
meet either Frenchman Corentin Moutet or Briton Daniel Evans, who was serving to
stay in the third set at 6-4 3-6 5-6 when rain stopped play on the outer
courts.
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