Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Open tennis tournament in Brussels after a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Damir Dzumhur from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Auger-Aliassime, the second seed in the tournament, dominated with 22 aces compared to Dzumhur’s zero, and he had 14 opportunities to break serve throughout the match.
Despite facing 13 break points, Dzumhur managed to defend most of them and capitalized on both of his chances to break Auger-Aliassime’s serve. In a tense moment during the third set, Auger-Aliassime missed three match points while leading with a double-break advantage, allowing Dzumhur to level the set at 5-5.
In the deciding tiebreak, Dzumhur initially took a 4-3 lead, but Auger-Aliassime rallied back by winning four of the next five points to secure the victory. The 25-year-old Canadian, currently ranked 13th in the world, is set to face American qualifier Eliot Spizzirri in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 hardcourt event.
This match marked the second encounter between Auger-Aliassime and Dzumhur at the ATP Tour level, with their previous meeting occurring in 2020 at Montpellier, France, where Auger-Aliassime emerged victorious in the first round.
