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ATP: Alex de Minaur will be the opponent of Félix Auger-Aliassime in the 2nd round in Cincinnati

Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime now knows the identity of his first opponent at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.

Seventh seed in the competition, Auger-Aliassime will face Australian Alex de Minaur on Wednesday in the second round, after having received a bye.

De Minaur, 20th in the ATP rankings, logically won his first round duel against the Swiss Henri Laaskonen, 6-2, 6-2.

He was the faller of Canadian Denis Shapovalov last week at the National Bank Open in Montreal.

Eventually, de Minaur was knocked out of the main draw in the Round of 16 by fellow countryman Nick Kyrgios.

This will be the very first confrontation between “FAA” and de Minaur on the ATP circuit.

In 2021, Auger-Aliassime had reached the quarters at the Cincinnati tournament, ultimately losing in three sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Monday evening, Shapovalov started his tournament well by defeating the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, champion in 2017 in Cincy, in two sets, 7-6, 6-3.

The 23-year-old left-hander is now preparing to cross swords with the quarter-finalist of the Montreal tournament, the American Tommy Paul, who today beat Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-2.

The Montreal champion eliminated from the start

Recent Montreal Masters 1000 winner Pablo Carreño Busta lost to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) for his Cincinnati tournament debut.

The Spaniard, 14th player in the world, for the first time titled in Masters 1000 on Sunday against the Pole Hubert Hurkacz (10th), was beaten in the tiebreaker after a long fight of 2:55 against the Serb , 36th player in the world, author of 12 aces.

Kecmanovic, 22, will face the Italian Jannik Sinner, 12th in the world, in the second round. Sinner defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (9), 6-4, 7-6 (6).

Kyrgios passe son 1er test

Australian Nick Kyrgios, a recent Wimbledon finalist, reached the second round by beating Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich 7-5, 6-4 for his entry.

Winner of the Washington tournament last Sunday, Kyrgios, 28th player in the world, has had a dazzling summer, marked by a first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, where he lost against the Serbian Novak Djokovic. The Australian will be one of outsiders at the US Open (August 29 – September 11), the last Major of the year.

Facing the Spaniard Davidovich, 37th in the world, Kyrgios, faithful to his forward game, distilled 29 winners, including 10 aces, to win his 22nd match since returning to the circuit in June after missing the sequence on clay.

“Physically, I didn’t feel very well, but I tried to stay the course. Alejandro is one hell of a player. He knows how to do everything well. I had to serve well and impose my game,” Kyrgios said after the game.

The 27-year-old Australian, who announced his retirement from the Davis Cup in September, will face the American Taylor Fritz, 13th in the world, in the second round.

Other results of the 1st round (men’s singles) :

Taylor Fritz (USA/No. 11) beat Sebastian Baez (ARG) 6-1, 6-1

Fabio Fognini (ITA) beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 6-2, 6-3

Borna Coric (CRO) bat Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) 7-6 (2), 6-3

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