Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime marked his comeback to the court with a solid victory of 6-3, 7-5 against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. Despite being the second seed at the Masters-level tournament, Auger-Aliassime faced challenges with the wind during the match, especially in the second set when he missed the opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4. However, the 26-year-old managed to break back in the following game and secured the win with his seventh ace on match point.

Reflecting on the match, Auger-Aliassime mentioned, “The windy conditions posed a challenge, affecting my serve and power. It was a tough ending, but I’m glad I could regain the break and close out the match better, considering the wind factor this time. Overall, coming back after a 40-day break since Wimbledon and dealing with recent health issues, winning like this feels great.”

Auger-Aliassime’s victory over Tsitsipas was only his fourth win out of 11 encounters with the Greek player. Up next, the Canadian will face Juan Cerundolo from Argentina, whom he has faced three times before, with Cerundolo pulling off an upset against 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech of France in a tight match on Sunday.

In the women’s category, qualifier Xiyu Wang from China defeated 30th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Quebec, in a two-hour, two-minute battle. Wang, 25 years old and ranked No. 49 in the world in 2023, started slowly but gained momentum in the second set, clinching the victory with 23 winners, 35 unforced errors, two aces, and two double faults. Fernandez, who recently reached the round of 16 at the National Bank Open in Toronto, struggled with 11 winners, 26 unforced errors, seven double faults, and a single ace. Fernandez faced challenges in both her return and service games, winning only three out of 12 return games and seven out of 12 service games, while Wang managed to win five out of 12 return games and nine out of 12 service games.