Canadian Tennis Star Auger-Aliassime Advances in Dubai Tournament Return

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada secured a hard-fought victory in his opening match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The Canadian player defeated China's Zhizhen Zhang in straight sets despite facing multiple match points in the second set.

Canadian tennis player Felix Auger-Aliassime made a successful comeback to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday, securing a challenging 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory against Zhizhen Zhang from China in the tournament’s opening round.

The Canadian competitor, who reached the finals at this same event in 2025 before falling to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, demonstrated resilience throughout the match. While Auger-Aliassime successfully defended against all four break point opportunities he encountered, Zhang proved equally tenacious by saving five match points during the contest. Zhang rescued two match points in the second set’s 10th game and defended three additional match points in the 12th game, ultimately pushing the set into a tiebreaker.

Auger-Aliassime will face French qualifier Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the next round, after Mpetshi Perricard defeated Tunisian wild card Moez Echargui in a grueling three-set battle, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4). The French player dominated with his serve, delivering 29 aces during the marathon match that lasted two hours and 36 minutes.

In other Dubai tournament action, Britain’s fourth-seeded Jack Draper defeated French qualifier Quentin Halys 7-6 (8), 6-3, while Swiss wild card Stan Wawrinka claimed victory over Lebanese wild card Benjamin Hassan with a 7-5, 6-3 result.

Meanwhile, at the BCI Seguros Chile Open in Santiago, Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann dominated the opening of his first-round match, claiming the initial seven games en route to a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic. Hanfmann controlled the match with a 22-9 advantage in winners, completing the victory in an efficient 74 minutes despite recording 24 unforced errors.

Seventh-seeded Francisco Comesana required nearly three hours to advance, overcoming Spain’s Pedro Martinez 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4) after saving a match point in the final set. Comesana will meet Italian qualifier Andrea Pellegrino next, who defeated Argentine qualifier Alex Barrena 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. The day’s final match between Chile’s Nicolas Jarry and Croatia’s Dino Prizmic was still in progress.