Tennis: Bautista Agut beats Safiullin in Barcelona
he Spaniard, who is chasing his 12th ATP Tour crown this week, will meet seventh seed Karen Khachanov in the second round.
Sunday’s win was Auger-Aliassime’s first ATP title of the season as he had made just one semi-final in 2023, and that came in February in Doha.
The 23-year-old, who has struggled with injury, grew in confidence throughout an impressive week in Switzerland, where he lost only one set en route to the trophy. The Canadian lost the first eight ATP Tour finals of his career, but he has now won five of his past six championship clashes, ATP Tour reports.
His victory also dented Hurkacz’s ATP Finals qualification hopes. Had the Polish star won the title, he would have pulled to within 15 points of eighth-placed Holger Rune of Denmark in the ATP Live Race To Turin for the final qualifying spot. Instead, he enters the Paris Masters 215 points behind the Dane.
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Auger-Aliassime began the week 53rd in the ATP Live Race To Turin and with the title climbed to 29th. Although he cannot qualify for the ATP Finals, it was a big step in the right direction for the 2022 Turin competitor.
Interestingly, Auger-Aliassime is the first Canadian to defend an ATP Tour title since Milos Raonic won the San Jose title in 2011 and 2012.
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