On the heels of his win over Luca Nardi within the opening spherical of the Monte-Carlo Masters, Félix Auger-Aliassime fell to Lorenzo Sonego (6-4, 7-5) in a two-hour two-setter.
Félix was initially slated to go head-to-head in opposition to Carlos Alcaraz in a rematch of their latest showdown in Indian Wells, however plans modified when the Spaniard was pressured to withdraw as a consequence of an arm harm. Simply because the draw appeared to be opening up for the Canadian, fortunate loser Sonego—a proficient clay court docket specialist—was thrown within the combine.
Within the tight first set, Auger-Aliassime simply gained his first two service video games at love however got here up brief on serve at 4-4. With the primary three break factors of the match, Sonego proved that the third time’s a attraction. He secured the break and didn’t cease till he’d sealed the set.
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Within the second, the Canadian shortly discovered his bearings to forge forward 4-1, however Sonego dug deep and capitalized on FAA’s unforced errors to degree the rating at 5-5. Constructing on his momentum, he saved the strain on Félix and received maintain of a 6-5 lead on his third break of the match.
By no means one to surrender, Auger-Aliassime pulled out all of the stops to battle off 5 match factors and power Sonego to provide his greatest tennis, but it surely was the Italian who had the ultimate phrase.
Ultimately, there wasn’t rather a lot separating the 2 opponents. Sonego gained 51% of the factors with solely 4 unforced errors in comparison with Félix’s 13. Regardless of their comparable stats on serve, Sonega was more practical on break factors, locking in 3 of seven versus just one of three for the Canadian.
The match marks Lorenzo Sonego’s second win in 4 matches in opposition to Félix Auger-Aliassime. Within the subsequent spherical, the Italian battles Ugo Humbert (14) of France.
