Forty days without a match, and a win at the end of it
Felix Auger-Aliassime had not played a competitive match since July 7. On this night in Cincinnati, he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5.
The Canadian, world No. 4 and the tournament’s No. 2 seed, was coming back from a back injury that had kept him off court since early July. Forty days out. His last match was that 5hr 14min marathon loss to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
He reported no back discomfort after the match.
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The wind proved more dangerous than Tsitsipas
The first set flew by. 6-3, no debate about it. The second got messy, and not really because of the Greek. The wind picked up across the court, hit the Canadian’s serve head-on and took away his biggest weapon.
“The wind was blowing against me. I felt like I had no power on serve. The end got tricky, but luckily I managed to get the break back,” Auger-Aliassime said.
Two break chances went begging in that second set, at exactly the wrong time. Seven aces on the day, though, and 66 points won from 111 played. The numbers tell the story: he took two-thirds of the points in a match he nearly let slip because of a gust.
“For someone who hadn’t played since Wimbledon, after a few tough weeks physically, I’m happy to come back with a win like that,” he added.
Cerundolo next up
In the round of 32, Auger-Aliassime will face Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo, also a winner on Sunday. On paper, it’s a match he should expect to handle, but match rhythm takes longer to rebuild than fitness.
The same day saw Daniil Medvedev beat Marco Trungelliti with eleven aces to his opponent’s one, Andrey Rublev overpower Pablo Carreno Busta after a drawn-out first set, and Taylor Fritz dispatch Alex Michelsen in straight sets. Casper Ruud, meanwhile, retired against Australian Christopher O’Connell.
Tsitsipas, a former finalist at the event, leaves with a win in round one and an exit that carries no shame. Auger-Aliassime got back the thing he needed most: match time.
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