BASEL, Switzerland - Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime started off his defence of his Swiss Indoors tennis title with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win over Switzerland's Leandro Riedi.
Auger-Aliassime, ranked 19th in the world and seeded sixth in Basel, won 58 per cent of total points and broke No. 162 Riedi four times on six chances.
The ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ faced break point just twice, saving one, in a match that took just over one hour 15 minutes to complete.
Auger-Aliassime will next face Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp, who upset Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-2.
The Montrealer and world No. 65 van de Zandschulp have split their previous two meetings, with the Dutchman winning their most recent match at Indian Wells in 2022.
Auger-Aliassime's win at Basel last year capped off a run of three consecutive titles in a breakout campaign that included an earlier title and a key role in Canada's first ever Davis Cup victory.
He has struggled to continue that success in 2023. Wednesday's win evened his season record at 18-18.
This report by ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥was first published Oct. 25, 2023.
