Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime overcame six match points to defeat Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in fourth-round action Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
Auger-Aliassime, the eighth seed, advanced to the quarter-finals of the Masters-level event for the first time.
Elimination looked certain for the Canadian when Paul held for a 6-5 lead in the third set and then had triple break point in the next game.
Auger-Aliassime rallied, however, firing five straight points, including an ace to win the 12th game and send the set to a tiebreaker.
Paul took a commanding 6-3 lead in the extra session, but again Auger-Aliassime responded with five straight points to secure the victory.
Auger-Aliassme advances to Indian Wells quarterfinals with phenomenal comeback
Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal fights off six match points and goes on to beat American Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Auger-Aliassime will face world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the quarterfinals.
Auger-Aliassime fired 12 aces in the match, but struggled with accuracy landing 58 per cent of his first serves.
Dabrowski moves on in doubles
Ottawa Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Luisa Stefani advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles draw with a 6-3, 6-4 straight-sets victory over New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Alexa Guarachi of Chile.
The Canadian and her Brazilian teammate will move on to face the Japan’s Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia on Friday for a spot on the semis.
Gauff rallies past Swedish qualifier Peterson
Coco Gauff rallied from a break down in the third set to beat Swedish qualifier Rebecca Peterson, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 and reach the quarters.
Down 2-4, Gauff fought her way back and saved three break points while serving at 4-all before closing out the match in the next game.
Four years ago, Peterson routed a then-14-year-old Gauff at a Challenger tournament in Michigan.
“She whopped me really bad,” Gauff said on court. “I think today was really a mental thing, just staying in the match. I wasn’t playing my best in some moments and I wasn’t serving as well as I’d like to, but I think that my mentality kept me in.”
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime celebrates a victory at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. The Montreal native fended off six match points to move on to the quarterfinals at the event on Tuesday. (Getty Images)
The sixth-seeded American next plays No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who beat 16th-seeded Barbora Krejcikova, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek, of Poland, moved on with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Toronto-born Emma Raducanu, of Great Britain in a matchup of U.S. Open champions.
No. 3 Jessica Pegula lost to 15th-seed Petra Kvitova 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (11) after the American blew four match points
Sorana Cirstea took out No. 5 Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, No. 7 Maria Sakkari beat 17th-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, and No. 10 Elena Rybakina defeated Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 6-0.
Swiatek strikes ⚡️<br><br>World No.1 <a href=”https://twitter.com/iga_swiatek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@iga_swiatek</a> goes up 2-0 in her head-to-head with Raducanu. Keeps her title defense alive!<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/TennisParadise?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#TennisParadise</a> <a href=”https://t.co/wQh0Yh5r6b”>pic.twitter.com/wQh0Yh5r6b</a>
On the men’s side, defending champion Taylor Fritz moved into the quarters with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Marton Fucsovics.
Carlos Alcaraz is three victories away from returning to the world’s top ranking, having reached the quarterfinals.
Alcaraz, ranked No. 2, advanced when Jack Draper retired with the Spaniard leading 6-2, 2-0 after 46 minutes of play. It was Alcaraz’s 101st ATP Tour victory.
No. 5 Daniil Medvedev overcame a swollen right ankle and outlasted 12th-seeded Alexander Zverev, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Zverev added to the drama by saving a match point and breaking for 5-5 in the final set. Medvedev broke right back and went on to win.
He next plays Spain’s Alejandro Davidovch Fokina, who beat Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-4.
No. 10 Cameron Norrie, the 2021 champion, beat sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev, 6-2, 6-4. Norrie improved to 21-3 this year.
Norrie advanced to a quarterfinal against Frances Tiafoe, who beat qualifier Alejandro Tabilo, 6-4, 6-4.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
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