Lyon signs the youngster everyone wants to have in the draw!
The third edition of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in Lyon will take place in the week before Roland Garros, standing as the last test point for players who have decided to compete ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season. The organizers have signed the previous two champions Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Dominic Thiem, joined by John Isner, Tomas Berdych and Roberto Bautista Ahut to form the core of the field that only got better on Wednesday when they confirmed Felix Auger-Aliassime as the fifth player who will chase the title in Lyon between May 19-25.
An 18-year-old sensation from Montreal has been among the most promising youngsters in the world ever since 2015 when he qualified for the Challenger draw at the age of 14 and reached the quarter-final at that level still before turning 15. Ranked outside the top-600 when 2017 season started, Felix made incredible progress after winning two Challenger titles, moving closer to the place in the top-150 and continuing his charge in 2018, earning first ATP wins and adding more Challenger trophies to his cabinet, standing on the verge of the top-100 as by far the best player born after 1999.
The start of the new season has been nothing but spectacular for this hard-working young man, advancing into the first ATP final in Rio de Janeiro to crack the top-60 and playing on an even higher level in Miami, qualifying for the main draw to reach the semis and write history. Auger-Aliassime became the third-youngest Masters 1000 semi-finalist after Denis Shapovalov and Michael Chang and the youngest one in Miami, losing a tight encounter against John Isner despite serving for both sets and finding himself in the top-35 this Monday. Felix will now turn his attention to clay, already receiving Madrid Open wild card and hoping to extend his excellent streak from the South American swing.
The first three Challengers crowns for Felix came on clay (two in Lyon) and he should be very dangerous on the slowest surface this spring, gaining a lot of confidence in Miami and eager to show his 'A game' on the dirt as well.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2uM3hJe
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