Felix Auger-Aliassime has made a significant leap into the semifinals of the Paris Masters tennis tournament, securing vital points in his quest for a spot in the prestigious year-end ATP Finals.
He achieved this with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory over wildcard entrant Valentin Vacherot from Monaco on Friday. Auger-Aliassime now awaits the winner of the matchup between sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur from Australia and 23rd-seeded Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan for his next challenge.
This triumph over the in-form Vacherot brings Auger-Aliassime to within just 90 points of Lorenzo Musetti in the race for the coveted eighth and final spot at the ATP Finals, set to commence next month in Turin, Italy. A win in the semifinals would propel Auger-Aliassime past Musetti, who was eliminated in the second round in Paris.
Before reaching the quarterfinals, Auger-Aliassime had been battling through nail-biting three-set matches and tiebreaks, while Vacherot was flying high with a 10-match winning streak at the ATP 1000 level, crowned by a recent victory at the Masters event in Shanghai.
However, Auger-Aliassime, the ninth seed in Paris, appeared to shift into a higher gear against Vacherot. The 25-year-old from Montreal dominated by winning 89 percent of his first-serve points and successfully saving all two break points he faced.
He limited Vacherot to a mere 6 out of 39 on return points while winning 49 percent (30 out of 61) of his return opportunities, breaking his opponent four times during the match.
Auger-Aliassime is in pursuit of his ninth career title and is aiming to secure his first win at the Masters level.
