Two-time Marseille Open finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime is out of the event in 2024 after being beaten by Zhizhen Zhang in two sets.
Zhang proved more than a difficult job for Auger-Aliassime. The way the court plays at the ATP 250 event in Marseille fits really well with how the Chinese player likes to play his tennis, and it certainly worked out for him today.
Auger-Aliassime played well in Montpellier last week, but putting together consistent performances has always been a big issue in his career. It seems to persist in 2024, even though he really tried in this one.
Zhang's service was a major problem for the Canadians. The Chinese player has a powerful serve that centers around everything he does on a tennis court, and it was working really well.
He didn't have too many aces, but he did have a high percentage, which made it very tough for his opponent to exert any kind of pressure.
His aggressive nature also gave Auger-Aliassime many problems. The Canadian struggled immensely on his second serve, winning less than 50% of those points. That gave his opponent plenty of chances, and Zhang was very clinical on them.
He took an early lead in the opening set, and while Auger-Aliassime could pull it back, Zhang would break once more. This time around, he wouldn't allow a single chance to break back, so the set finished 6-4 in his favor.
The second set was quite similar as Zhang once again jumped out to an early lead. He would serve well enough to wiggle out of a few break chances he allowed in the next couple of games.
That was enough to break down the heavy pressure from Auger-Aliassime, who tried everything but ultimately wasn't sharp enough when it mattered. The final score was 6-4 6-4 as Zhang moved on.
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