Felix Auger-Aliassime’s back injury, which kept him from participating in the National Bank Open in his hometown earlier this month, seems to be recovering well.
The 26-year-old tennis player from Montreal moved on to the Round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open after defeating Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo with a score of 7-5, 6-1 on Tuesday night.
Auger-Aliassime took just one hour and 27 minutes to secure his victory over Cerundolo in the Round of 32 singles match, and he is set to compete against Frances Tiafoe, who came out on top against Learner Tien with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a two-hour, 10-minute match on Tuesday night.
In his opening match on Sunday, Auger-Aliassime triumphed over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas with a score of 6-3, 7-5.
During the match against Cerundolo, Auger-Aliassime recorded six aces, committed five double faults, made 22 unforced errors, and achieved 19 winners. He converted three out of nine return games and successfully held serve in all nine of his service games.
Earlier this month, Auger-Aliassime was compelled to withdraw from the NBO in Montreal due to a back injury sustained during training prior to the tournament. He held the No. 2 seed position in the annual Canadian event.
Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1 and current Wimbledon champion, announced in late July that he would not participate in the NBO to focus on his health. World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who was sidelined from Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, also could not compete in Montreal, while Novak Djokovic, the all-time male Grand Slam leader with 24 titles, withdrew as well.