Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 win over French qualifier Constant Lestienne on Friday. Auger-Aliassime plays a backhand return to Daniil Medvedev of Russia at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 win over French qualifier Constant Lestienne on Friday.
Auger-Aliassime won 85 per cent of first serve points and broke Lestienne four times on 10 chances while defending all three break points he faced.
The 23-year-old Canadian will next face the winner of a match between second seed Carols Alcaraz of Spain and Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi.
Auger-Aliassime had a bye in the first round as the 31st seed at the ATP Masters-level event.
He improved to 7-6 on the season as he looks to improve his recent form.
Later Friday, Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., faced Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2024.
