Auger-Aliassime battles past Tien; Shelton and Fritz also reach quarterfinals
Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime overcame a tough match against American Learner Tien on Friday, while Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz also advanced to the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 grass tournaments in Halle and London.
At the Halle ATP 500 tournament, fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada reached the quarterfinals after a hard-fought victory over 20-year-old American Learner Tien. The match ended 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5). Auger-Aliassime entered as a slight favorite with odds of 1.69. In the first tiebreak, the Canadian rallied from 2-5 to 5-5 but eventually lost. In the deciding tiebreak, he saved deficits of 1-4 and 3-5 before winning 7-5.
Statistically, Auger-Aliassime dominated on first-serve points won (88% to 76%), total points (120 to 105), and break points converted (2 for 6 vs. 1 for 3). He also hit 22 aces to Tien's five, while committing only one double fault to Tien's four. This is Auger-Aliassime's fifth appearance at the event, with his best result being a semifinal run in 2021.
Meanwhile, in Halle's first round, American fifth seed Ben Shelton defeated Italian Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 6-3. At the London ATP 500 event, ninth seed Taylor Fritz overcame Belgian Zizou Bergs 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4. Additionally, Australian top player Alex de Minaur (sixth seed) beat Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-1 in the Round of 16. Shapovalov was once ranked as high as world No. 10.
