Auger-Aliassime
Canadians seem to be taking a liking to grass courts.
Felix Auger-Aliassime rolled into the semifinals at the Boss Open in Germany on Friday, hours before Gabriel Diallo did the same at the Libema Open in the Netherlands.
Auger-Aliassime beat Germany’s Justin Engel 7-6 (3), 6-3, firing 18 aces to Engel’s seven while double-faulting just twice en route to victory. He also converted two of six break-point opportunities while being broken once.
The 24-year-old Montreal native will next face No. 2 American Taylor Fritz, who beat Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-4.
Auger-Aliassime’s run at the Stuttgart tournament marks a strong start to the grass-court season after he picked up wins in just one of six clay-court events, including a first-round loss at the French Open.
Diallo, meanwhile, took out No. 3 seed Karen Khachanov 7-6 (6), 6-4 and will face France’s Ugo Humbert in his semis.
Montreal’s Diallo used 19 aces to secure the upset, breaking Khachanov twice while bing broken only once himself.
He lost in the second round of the French Open in May.
Wimbledon, the next major of the season, begins June 30.
Also Friday, Canadian Bianca Andreescu was playing her own quarterfinal match at the Libema Open.