Felix Auger-Aliassime finally won a match and it came against good friend Matteo Berrettini at the Cincinnati Masters.
As expected a matchup between two friends who know each other well was a rather close one. The opening set saw both players hold their serve for a while even though Auger-Aliassime encountered break points rather early in the match.
Eventually, Berrettini did get the break which he held comfortably until 5-4. That game was quite tough on the Italian as he faced break points but ultimately held to win the set 6-4. The Italian was quite sharp hitting 11 winners and only 2 unforced errors whilst the Canadian struggled far more.
The Canadian found his rhythm in the second set though hitting the ball rather well while limiting the number of errors. The big difference is him asserting himself in most rallies which gave his opponent a lot of problems.
Berrettini only had 4 winners in that set and didn't even serve that well so it's no surprise that Auger-Aliassime won the set rather easily. The first game of the 3rd was a crucial one for Auger-Aliassime as it was a close one but he held his serve to start it off on a good note.
It gave him confidence for the rest of the match and that proved crucial. Both looked pretty solid to start but then play stopped for about 10 minutes due to some minor rain. They quickly returned and Auger-Aliassime smelled a minor chance at 3-2 30-30.
He attacked with a forehand down the line and it was a beauty setting up a break point. Berrettini felt the pressure in the moment and he crumbled by serving a second serve into the net which gave the Canadian the lead he needed.
From there it was a rather simple cruise to the finish line. The final score was 4-6 6-2 6-3 for the Canadian. Much better than last week in Toronto.
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