FĂ©lix Auger-Aliassime saved his finest tennis for when it mattered most.
Along with his again up towards the wall, the Canadian used his punishing serve and heavy forehand to avoid wasting three set factors within the first set, earlier than overcoming impressed qualifier Adam Walton 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour, 59 minutes to advance to the second spherical in Miami.
It was a rock-solid efficiency from the 23-year-old, who fired 31 winners to only 17 errors and completed with 11 aces within the win.
Walton was making his Masters 1000 debut, having certified with two come-from-behind three-set victories over Thiago Monteiro and Pedro Martinez, and rapidly proved to be a worthy opponent.
Although motion was initially halted by rain after simply six minutes of play, the gamers returned and Walton instantly utilized strain, creating two break level possibilities towards the Auger-Aliassime serve earlier than the Canadian escaped with a maintain.
The 2 would proceed to commerce holds till the enterprise finish of the set, with the Canadian producing loads of spotlight reel photographs alongside the way in which, together with an electrical working forehand passing shot winner off a Walton overhead at 4-4.
It was the Australian qualifier who utilized vital strain at 4-5 within the first, creating three set level alternatives. Below duress, Auger-Aliassime held his nerve, relying upon clutch serving and placing belief in his penetrating forehand to show apart the probabilities. That undoubtedly shifted momentum, because the Canadian would shut out the set in a flurry, capturing 11 of the ultimate 13 factors to win the opener 7-5 in 65 minutes.
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The second set proceedings have been much more straight ahead and cozy for the Montreal native. Auger-Aliassime dropped simply 4 factors whole on his serve, and largely dictated baseline play because the pair once more traded holds of serve.
At 4-4 he would capitalize on his probability, changing the one break level of the set as he ripped a deadly inside-in forehand winner previous a sprawling Walton. Â
There was little drama within the closing service sport, because the Canadian hit a pair of aces and closed the match out with one other forehand winner.
Auger-Aliassime joins fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov within the second spherical of the occasion and now prepares for a a lot sterner problem towards world quantity 5 Alexander Zverev.
It will likely be the eighth profession assembly between the 2, with Zverev holding a 5-2 edge within the head-to-head and profitable their most up-to-date encounter at Monte Carlo in 2022 on the clay.
