After a dramatic three-set match against Tommy Paul, Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the Indian Wells quarterfinals in an incredible performance of mental and physical toughness.
It was the first meeting for Auger-Aliassime and Paul as both were looking to extend their runs in Indian Wells to the quarterfinals where the first-seeded Carlos Alcaraz already awaited the winner.
The eighth-seeded Canadian had a slow start and after being broken once, he lost the first set 3-6 as Paul was looking to end the match early after a perfect start.
However, Auger-Aliassime displayed resilience and battled back into the match in the second set, breaking Paul's serve to even the score. Nevertheless, the true drama was left for the last set, where both players fought toe-to-toe in an incredible battle of wills.
As Paul broke Auger-Aliassime it appeared as though he had the match in the bag, but the Canadian broke back. A few games later, the American had three match points on his opponent's serve and to the surprise of the fans, the Canadian didn't give up without a fight and held onto all three match points.
Paul once more took the lead, this time leading 6-3 in the subsequent tie-break. To secure a spirited victory, Auger-Aliassime pushed deep and staged yet another comeback, scoring five straight points and winning the match 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in two hours and 48 minutes.
After this outstanding victory, Auger-Aliassime will now compete against Carlos Alcaraz, the tournament's top seed and current world no. 2, who will surely want to capitalize on the fact that he had to spend only 46 minutes on the court in his fourth-round win while his opponent battled in three sets.
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