Comeback king Alexander Bublik rallies again, beats Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach Montpellier final

All five of his ATP titles have come on indoor hard courts, including a maiden triumph at Rotterdam two years ago. It was in 2022 when the Canadian compiled a 16-match win streak indoors to sweep three titles in three weeks before seeing his run halted by Holger Rune in the semifinals of the Rolex Paris Masters, but the effort resulted in a place at the coveted eight-man Nitto ATP Finals.

After guiding his nation to its first Davis Cup title at another indoor venue to close out a banner 2022, Auger-Aliassime went through a trying 2023 season—until a return to Basel’s indoor courts saw FAA salvage his year with a successful title defense at the ATP 500 event.

This week, Auger-Aliassime is within striking distance of stepping into the winners’ circle much sooner. On Friday, the No. 3 seed once again spoiled the hopes of a local favorite in Montpellier, a long-standing fixture of February’s European indoor swing on the men's tour.

A title this weekend would get Auger-Aliassime back inside the Top 25.

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A day after battling past Arthur Cazaux in a final-set tiebreaker, Auger-Aliassime eased past Frenchman Harold Mayot, 7-5, 6-1, at the Open Sud de France.

In the opening set, the two competitors traded four successive breaks in the early goings before settling in. But the 23-year-old eventually hit his stride, winning eight of the final nine games to book a semifinal showdown with 2022 champion Alexander Bublik.

“It was quite tough to start with my serve, but improved as the match went on,” the current world No. 30 said in an on-court interview after moving to 42-9 in indoor contests since the start of 2022.

“To get three breaks in the first set, it means I was returning really well. It was just adding the serve to that, going down with a few mistakes and being a bit more consistent, more patient, a little bit more disciplined.”

Auger-Aliassime defeated Bublik during his 2022 Basel title run to move ahead 2-1 in their head-to-head series. Seeded No. 2, Bublik rallied past Alexander Shevchenko, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, a round after staving off three match points to deny Auger-Aliassime’s countryman Denis Shapovalov.

“He survived in the first match and today he won in three sets. Tomorrow he should play a good match and I’m gonna be ready for the challenge,” said Auger-Aliassime.

AUGER-ALIASSIME'S TITLES:

2022 Rotterdam (d. Tsitsipas in final)
2022 Florence (d. Wolf in final)
2022 Antwerp (d. Korda in final)
2022 Basel (d. Rune in final)
2023 Basel (d. Hurkacz in final)

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