Unsuccessful on serve
Against an up-and-coming 22-year-old who came straight to Montréal from the final in Washington, Félix would’ve had to dig very deep and lock and load every weapon in his arsenal.
But that’s not what happened on Wednesday evening on Centre Court at IGA Stadium in Montréal, in the first round of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. While Flavio Cobolli hammered out a perfect match, FAA lacked accuracy and speed and squandered his first serves.
And with that, Cobolli emerged victorious by the cruel score of 6-3, 6-2, leaving no doubt as to his dominance.
There’s no denying that Auger-Aliassime put up some so-so stats. He hit zero aces and racked up five double faults. His first serve percentage was only 46%, and he collected 33 points versus 54 for his opponent.
Unsurprisingly, the first set lasted 33 minutes and the second 34. It was a painful loss undoubtedly caused by the 18 hours Félix spent in pursuit of an Olympic medal in Paris last week.
Auger-Aliassime is now 0-2 against Cobolli.
Pospisil in pain
Fans would have loved to find a seat on the neighbouring court to see Vasek Pospisil take on Sebastian Korda of the US, but unfortunately the Canadian veteran had to bow out at 2-1 in the opening set. Despite investing every effort, he’s had a tough time bouncing back from all the injuries that plague him.
In the second round, Flavio Cobolli will spend his evening on Rogers Court, where he’ll battle Arthur Rinderknech of France who took down his countryman Adrian Mannarino (6-4, 2-6, 6-4).
Taylor Fritz (9) got his tournament off to a flying start. He overpowered Mariano Navone, who’s less comfortable on hard courts, in two sets (6-4, 6-1).
Flawless Kokkinakis
In the last match of the day, Thanasi Kokkinakis punched his ticket for the second round with a sometimes-spectacular win over 37-year-old Gaël Monfils (6-3, 6-3). Despite his trademark flashes of brilliance, the Frenchman just couldn’t keep up with the Australian’s impeccable play.
As for Jannik Sinner, he and Jack Draper moved into the quarterfinals of the doubles event by overpowering Ben Shelton and Alexander Bublik 7-6 (2), 6-1.
Meanwhile, Casper Ruud and Miomir Kecmanovic ousted Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni (7) of Argentina.
Unfortunately for the Canadians Liam Draxl and Benjamin Sigouin, their run was ended by Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz (10) of Germany.
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