By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, February 5, 2026Photo credit score: Tennis TV
Felix Auger-Aliassime continues to rise beneath the roof.
At present, defending champion Auger-Aliassime closed the curtain on Stan Wawrinka to energy into the Montpellier quarterfinals.
The highest-seeded Auger-Aliassime cracked 16 aces and denied three of 4 break factors defeating Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6(3) to succeed in quarterfinals for the ninth time in his final 10 tournaments because the begin of August.
In his first look since cramps pressured him to retire from his Australian Open opener vs. Nuno Borges final month, Auger-Aliassime battled Wawrinka within the first assembly between the pair.
“I do know him very effectively. I watched him being the legendary participant he’s,” Auger-Aliassime mentioned of Wawrkina. “The resilience, the onerous work, he’s been an instance for all us younger gamers.
“It’s loopy that we by no means performed earlier than. It was nice to share the courtroom with him.”
Auger-Aliassime, who leads the ATP Tour in indoor victories this decade with 86, drew a pair of forehand errors for double break level within the seventh recreation. When Wawrinka double faulted, the Canadian had the break and a 4-3 lead. Whipping a forehand crosscourt, Auger-Aliassime consolidated at 15 for 5-3.
Serving for the set, Auger-Aliassime saved two break factors, pounding down his fifth ace and a serve winner earlier than banging one other massive serve to grab a one-set lead after 41 minutes.
Credit score the 40-year-old Wawrinka for getting back from a break down to interrupt again at 15 and degree the second set at 3-all.
The three-time Grand Slam champion stamped successive love holds for a 6-5 lead. Auger-Aliassime answered with a love maintain to drive the second-set tiebreaker.
Fortune favored the 25-year-old Canadian, who earned the mini break with a forehand volley then caught a break when his forehand return crashed into the tape and crawled over for one more mini break and a 4-1 lead. Auger-Aliassime thumped two aces in a row to earn 5 match factors.
On his third match level, Auger-Aliassime threw down one other serve winner to return to the quarterfinals. The world No. 8 will play a Frenchman, both sixth-seeded Arthur Fils, who’s on the comeback path from a again harm, or fortunate loser Ugo Blanchet, for a semifinal spot.
Earlier, world No. 106 Luca Nardi upset second-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 in an all-Italian match-up. IT was Nardi’s fourth Tour-level win over Davis Cup hero Cobolli in as many conferences.
Nardi will play lethal-serving American qualifier Martin Damm, Jr. for a semifinal spot. Damm, Jr., who beat Hubert Hurkacz within the earlier spherical, ripped 11 aces and received 22 of 27 first-serve factors dismissing Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3 in 55 minutes.
