Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada returns a ball to Max Purcell of Australia during National Bank Open tennis in Toronto, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
CINCINNATI – There was good news and bad news for Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Cincinnati Open.
The Montreal tennis ace snapped a five-match losing skid when he battled from behind to bounce Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Monday 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round of men’s singles action at the ATP 1000 event.
But Auger-Aliassime was unable to make it two in a row when he lost Tuesday night to left-hander Adrian Mannarino of France 4-6, 4-6 in a rain-interrupted match that took one hour, 49 minutes to complete.
Mannarino was the more consistent of the two players who, at times, were drowned out by music from nearby courts. Mannarino had 19 service winners compared to Auger-Aliassime’s 10. The Canadian had 21 unforced errors, eight double faults and only one ace.
It appeared Auger-Aliassime had found some momentum in the second set when he broke Mannarino to tie it 4-4, but the 35-year-old Frenchman broke right back and served it out for the win.
In women’s doubles, Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and her partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand were scheduled to play American Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama of Japan in a round of 16 match in the WTA 1000 event.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2023.
