Félix Auger-Aliassime did not progress past the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati tournament, losing 6-4 in straight sets to Croatian Borna Coric on Friday.
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The Quebecer, ninth hitter at the ATP, couldn’t use his serve effectively, managing 12 aces but committing five double faults. He couldn’t get more than 59% success on his first serves either, and only won rallies 70% of the time he did.
The La Belle provincial representative was the only one of the two players to see his serve broken, suffering the same fate in both the third game of the first set and the seventh game of the second.
Auger-Aliassime gave his opponent a total of nine break chances. More often than not, the 22-year-old has shot himself in the leg and committed 25 unforced errors against just 20 winners, a recipe that rarely rhymes with success.
In contrast, Coric, who was once ranked 12th in the ATP but is now ranked 152nd, showed much more control with the balls in hand and didn’t give his rival a break opportunity.
His first ball success rate (64%) leaves a lot to be desired, but he made up for it by winning 31 of 32 rallies back then. He also managed the same number of winners as his opponent while committing 11 fewer unforced errors.
Auger-Aliassime, who has reached the quarter-finals for the second time in a row, can still be happy. He had also reached this stage at the National Bank Open in Montreal, but lost his flag before the Norwegian Casper Ruud.
Still, it’s encouraging preparation for the Quebecer, who will now turn his attention to the last major tournament of the season, the United States Open, to be played from August 29 to September 11. He will also have many points to defend, he who had reached the semi-finals in 2021.
Meanwhile, Coric continues his momentum after eliminating Rafael Nadal and defending National Bank Open champion Roberto Bautista Agut. He meets the winner of the duel between Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie in the semifinals.