Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Open tennis tournament in Brussels with a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Auger-Aliassime, the second seed, dominated the serving game with 22 aces compared to Dzumhur’s zero and had numerous opportunities to break serve, totaling 14 break-point chances.
Despite Auger-Aliassime’s strong performance, Dzumhur managed to fend off 13 break points and capitalized on his own break opportunities to keep the match tight. Auger-Aliassime had a golden opportunity to close out the match in the third set but Dzumhur showed resilience by saving three match points to level the set at 5-5.
In the deciding tiebreak, Dzumhur initially took a 4-3 lead, but Auger-Aliassime rallied back by winning four of the next five points to secure the victory. The 25-year-old Canadian, currently ranked 13th in the world, is set to face American qualifier Eliot Spizzirri in the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 hardcourt event.
This match marked the second meeting between Auger-Aliassime and Dzumhur at the ATP Tour level, with their previous encounter dating back to 2020 in Montpellier, France, where Auger-Aliassime emerged victorious.