Felix Auger-Aliassime feels strong on both clay and hard
An 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime has continued where he left in Miami, defeating Cordoba champion Juan Ignacio Londero 7-5, 7-6 in an hour and 58 minutes after a great battle for Masters 1000 victory number ten. Just like against John Isner in Miami, Felix had the advantage in both sets but he had to grab them in a harder way despite losing serve only twice. The Argentinian couldn't do much on the return, especially behind Felix's first serve, and he dug deep to stay in contention, fending off six out of nine break points to extend the match as much as possible.
The Canadian was off to a perfect start, delivering four easy holds and a break at love at 2-1 to gain the lead and serve for the set at 5-3. Unchallenged so far, Felix suffered a break in that ninth game while serving for the set, letting Londero in before breaking him again in game 12 for a 7-5. A teenager moved 5-3 up in set number two after a deep return that Juan Ignacio failed to control, wasting two match points in the next game to get broken, just like in the opening set. Londero saved another match point at 5-6 to set up a tie break where he stayed in contention until 5-5 when Felix hit a return winner that gave him the crucial mini-break, sealing the deal with a service winner to secure the place in the second round where he will face Alexander Zverev.
"For the first round, I'm happy with my performance, it could have been better and it could have been worse, you never know. Playing my first match after Miami, I felt good from the start and not that much in the second but I guess I'm not the first guy to miss match points and struggle to seal the deal. I think I handled myself pretty well, staying composed and earning other chances. I don't try to think about everything I have achieved in the past 12 months, that's the past and I look forward to what the future brings. I'm happy with the work I have done, it is a result of a lot of hard work behind. I improved a lot last year and my rise has been fast in 2019, at the moment I'm enjoying that streak and hoping for more in the future. It is 50-50 for me considering clay and hard, I can play well on both surfaces. My serve and aggressive game suit hard courts, I grew up playing on it but I also felt comfortable moving on clay ever since junior days, I like the touch and the rallies so I'm enjoying both."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2PcKgsP
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