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Félix Auger-Aliassime powered his way into the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a dominant serving display Thursday.
The top seed from Montreal hammered 16 aces and won 83 per cent of his first-serve points in a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win over eighth-seeded Jiri Lehecka of Czechia at the ATP 500 event.
Auger-Aliassime broke Lehecka twice and controlled the second-set tiebreak to seal the straight-set victory.
Auger-Aliassime has yet to drop a set through three matches in Dubai and advanced to his third consecutive tour-level semifinal after lifting the trophy in Montpellier and finishing runner-up in Rotterdam.
The 25-year-old improved to 11-1 in February and 12-3 on the season. He wants to return to the Dubai final after falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in last year’s championship match.
Auger-Aliassime next faces third seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia, who advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jenson Brooksby to reach his third Dubai semifinal in the past four years.
Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime defended his Open Occitanie title in Montpellier, France, with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Adrian Mannarino of France. It’s his ninth ATP title, making him the Canadian with the most men’s singles titles in the Open Era, passing recently retired Milos Raonic.
Auger-Aliassime dropped his first seven meetings with Medvedev before winning their last two — at the 2024 Paris Olympics and in Doha last year.
“We have very different game styles,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I’m going to try to come forward, he will try and make me miss. We’ll see who gets the better of the game plan. He’s had the better of me. It took me seven or eight times before beating him.”
The winner advances to Sunday’s final.
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