Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime made a winning return to the court with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in second-round action Sunday at the Cincinnati Open.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded second at the Masters-level event, struggled with the wind in the second set and failed to serve out the match while up 5-4.
But the 26-year-old broke back in the next game and made no mistake in his second chance to put the game away as he fired his seventh ace on match point.
"It got really windy," said Auger-Aliassime, who played his first match in 40 days. "The wind was pushing against me. I felt like I had no power in my serve. It was a tricky ending, but luckily I was able to get the break back. I was able to come back and serve it out better, with the wind this time.
"It got tricky in the end but overall, for someone who hasn't played since Wimbledon — obviously it's been a tough few weeks health wise. But I'm happy to be back with a win like this, it's great."
Auger-Aliassime out of National Bank Open after injuring back in practice
Auger-Aliassime has struggled against Tsitsipas over his career and beat the Greek player for just the fourth time in 11 matches.
The Canadian, who withdrew from the National Bank Open in his hometown with a back injury before playing a match, will next face Juan Cerundolo of Argentina. Cerundolo, who is 1-2 against Auger-Aliassime, upset 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech of France 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) on Sunday.
In women's action later Sunday, qualifier Xiyu Wang of China bounced 30th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours, two minutes.
The 25-year-old Wang, who was ranked No. 49 in the world in 2023, started slowly against Fernandez but came on strong in the second set and never looked back. She finished with 23 winners, 35 unforced errors, two aces and two double faults.
Fernandez, who made it to the round of 16 at the National Bank Open in Toronto last week, had 11 winners, 26 unforced errors, seven double faults and once ace.
The Canadian only won three of 12 return games, and seven of 12 service games, while Wang won five of 12 return games and nine of 12 service games.
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