It was a relieved but dissatisfied Félix Auger-Aliassime who savored victory in his first match in the men’s singles draw at the Indian Wells tournament on Saturday.
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The Quebecer overcame the Spaniard Pedro Martinez, 120th racket in the world, following a battle of nearly 2 hours 30 minutes. “FAA” won in two sets of 7-6 (5) and 6-4.
Recognized for his Olympian calm, the 22-year-old athlete showed several signs of frustration during the duel. If he posted much better statistics than his rival in service reception, Auger-Aliassime nevertheless committed 25 unforced errors. He also managed only 49% of his first-serve attempts.
From the first game of the match, Martinez offered his only break point of the game… and he took advantage of it. Struggling to return the favor, the Quebecer stole his rival’s serve when he was serving for the set, at 5-4. He then had the upper hand in a hard-fought tiebreaker.
“FAA” was sorely lacking in opportunism in the duel. He converted just two of his 17 break points. He still managed to take advantage of his second match point to close the books.
Seeking a first appearance in a final this year, Auger-Aliassime will face the winner of the duel between 27th-seeded Argentine Francisco Cerundolo and American Jack Sock in the third round.
The Quebecer will also continue his doubles adventure alongside Denis Shapovalov on Sunday once morest Cameron Norrie and Lucas Miedler.
