By Canadian Press

Smooth-serving Auger-Aliassime downs Halys in first round at Marseille

Feb 7, 2024 | 9:08 AM

MARSEILLE, France — Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the second round of the Open 13 Provence tennis tournament with a 6-2, 7-5 win over French wild-card Quentin Halys on Wednesday.

Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime, seeded seventh in Marseille, excelled on serve. He won 80 per cent of his service points, including an impressive 93 per cent (27 of 29) on first serve.

Halys fired 10 aces in the match, compared to eight for Auger-Aliassime. But while the Frenchman showed he could match the Canadian’s power, he was a distant second in accuracy converting just 56 per cent of service points.

Auger-Aliassime saved the only break point he faced while converting three of five break points against Halys.

The world No. 28, a two-time finalist in Marseille, improved his career record at the tournament to 8-3.

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Auger-Aliassime will face China’s Zhang Zhizhen in the second round.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2024.

The Canadian Press