PARIS (Reuters) -Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime boosted his chances of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals with a 7-6(3) 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters on Saturday.
The U.S. Open semi-finalist leapfrogged Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti to eighth place in the ATP Race to Turin standings and could secure his second ATP Finals appearance after 2022 if he wins Sunday’s final.
The 25-year-old will face either four-times Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner or world number three Alexander Zverev in the title showdown.
“I’m so happy. A Masters 1000 final sounds so good. You don’t play those finals every week. Hopefully, I can go all the way and get the title,” Auger-Aliassime said.
“But in terms of today, you get into a Masters and every match is tough … You’re always kind of curious to see how your game is going to match up.
“I have deep self-confidence in my game, I know what I can do against the best players in the world but you still have to go and execute. Today I did really well and I’m happy with the result.”
The opening set was a serving clinic from both players, with neither conceding a break or even a break point. Locked at 6-6, the set went to a tiebreak, where Auger-Aliassime seized a 4-2 lead and closed it out comfortably.
In a scrappy second set, 13th seed Bublik started brightly, breaking Auger-Aliassime early to take a 2-0 lead. However, the Canadian world number 10 responded immediately by breaking back, drawing frustration from Bublik, who smashed his racket.
Bublik recovered to take a 4-1 lead, but Auger-Aliassime came to life, reeling off five straight games to seal his place in the final in one hour and 36 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime showcased his serving prowess in the first set, firing 10 aces compared to Bublik’s four. The Canadian also delivered 31 winners overall, more than double the tally of his opponent.
Playing his 10th tour-level semi-final of the season, Auger-Aliassime extended his head-to-head record against Bublik to 4-2, having previously beaten the 28-year-old in the round of 32 at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
Auger-Aliassime is chasing his fourth title of the season, having triumphed in Brussels, Montpellier and Adelaide.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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