Felix's Dream Run Continues In Miami

#NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime’s dream week continues. The qualifier ousted 17th-seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6(4), 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The 18-year-old had never reached the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament before this event, but he is the first qualifier to make the last eight in Miami since Guillermo Canas in 2007. Based on his performance, Auger-Aliassime is also projected to crack the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings next Monday, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to do so.

This time last year, Auger-Aliassime lost in the first round of qualifying in Miami, and he was the No. 182 player in the ATP Rankings. He now holds a 13-6 tour-level record in 2019. Before the year, he was just 6-10.

Auger-Aliassime shanked a forehand well out while facing two break points at 5-5 to give Basilashvili the opportunity to serve out the first set. But the teenager showed the maturity of a veteran, battling into a tie-break and winning it to take the lead.

The World No. 57 broke early in the second set, but nerves could have set in again when Basilashvili broke back for 3-3. The Canadian immediately responded with another break, though, and with a wild Basilashvili forehand the teen advanced after one hour and 36 minutes.

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Both competitors played aggressively throughout the match, knocking the fuzz off the balls in power-filled rallies. But Basilashvili made the more untimely errors of the two, including two unforced errors from 30/30 at 4-5 in the second set as Auger-Aliassime served out the match.

Did You Know?
Auger-Aliassime is the youngest Miami quarter-finalist since former World No. 1 Andy Roddick (18) in 2001. In February, he became the youngest ATP 500 finalist in the history of the series when he made his first ATP Tour championship match in Rio de Janeiro (l. to Djere).

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2CDZsKt