Auger-Aliassime sets up De Minaur quarter-final

- BBC News

Auger-Aliassime sets up De Minaur quarter-final

Felix Auger-Aliassime won US Open junior titles in singles and doubles

US Open 2025

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 24 August-7 September

Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website & app

Felix Auger-Aliassime beat 15th seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets to set up a US Open quarter-final tie against Australias Alex de Minaur.

The Canadian, 25, dominated the Russian 7-5 6-3 6-4 to progress to the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2021, when he reached the semi-finals.

Rublev had been the favourite before the match, given he had beaten Auger-Aliassime in seven of the pairs previous eight matches.

But Auger-Aliassime, who won the US Open junior title in 2016, overpowered Rublev, hitting 42 winners to the Russians 22 and losing his serve just once.

The Canadians dominance irked Rublev, who smashed his racquet at the end of the second set and appeared frustrated as the match slipped away.

"Ive played good in the past against Andrey, but I kept my cool and remained calm and poised to finish the match - that was the key," said Auger-Aliassime.

"Today was my first time playing on Arthur Ashe in a few years but it feels even better than the first time.

"The first time at 21, I was on my way up. Ive had a few setbacks, injuries and struggles with confidence, so to come back the second time to the quarter-finals, it feels much better and more deserved.

"Im soaking up every moment here."

The 25th seeds reward for victory is a quarter-final match against eighth seed De Minaur, who was too strong for Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi in a 6-3 6-2 6-1 success.

De Minaur needed just one hour and 33 minutes to reach the quarter-finals, although the Australian eighth seed was far from flawless against the world number 435.

Breaks apiece early in the first set suggested the crowd on Louis Armstrong Stadium were about to enjoy a close contest, but Riedis all-or-nothing aggressive game proved his downfall.

The 23-year-old faced seven break points in the first set alone, allowing De Minaur to sweep up in 32 minutes.

De Minaur set out his stall for the second set by breaking from 0-40 down and winning five straight games before Riedi enjoyed a brief resurgence.

The Australian made just 55% of his first serves in the second set, but felt little pressure as Riedi made 15 unforced errors.

Riedi did remarkably well to reach the last 16 after two separate operations at the end of last year, but a leg issue began to hamper him in the final set and his service game fell apart.

De Minaur picked up his level from the second set to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for the sixth time in his career.



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