Canada’s Auger-Aliassime wins opening-round match at Dubai Championships

By Canadian Press on February 23, 2026.

DUBAI — Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime defeated China’s Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 7-6 (4) in first-round men’s singles tennis action at the Dubai Championships on Monday.

Auger-Aliassime, the tournament’s top seed, fired 11 aces to three double faults and broke on two of his 11 chances.

The Montreal native also won 78 per cent of first-serve points.

Zhang had 10 aces to just one double fault and won 71 per cent of first-serve points. However, he failed to convert on all four of his break-point chances.

Auger-Aliassime had a chance to avoid a final-set tiebreaker, but Zhang dug in to extend the match. Serving at 6-5, Auger-Aliassime led 30-0 and then 40-15 before the game went to deuce several times, with Zhang eventually winning the game.

In the tiebreaker, Auger-Aliassime won two of the last three points after taking a 5-3 lead to seal the win.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2026.

The Canadian Press

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