Auger-Aliassime rolls into semifinals at Cologne with 6-3, 6-0 win over Albot

COLOGNE, Germany — Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime cruised into the semifinals of the Cologne Open tennis tournament with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Moldova’s Radu Albot on Friday.

Auger-Aliassime, seeded third at the ATP 250 indoor hardcourt event, converted five of his six break point chances and won 68 per cent of his service points, compared to 42 per cent for Albot.

Albot, who also struggled when receiving with a 32-per-cent conversion rate on return points, was successful on his only break opportunity of the match.

“I struggled on the opening game on my serve, and since then everything went uphill,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I was returning great, serving good and hitting my spots. As a player you know you’re happy when your shots are going where you want them to go, and that’s really how I felt today.”

Auger-Aliassime will next face second-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in Saturday’s semifinals. Bautista Agut prevailed over 2 1/2 hours to beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-0.

Bautista Agut beat Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (3), 6-3 in last year’s Davis Cup final in the only other meeting between the players.

“I think playing him will be a good match, a good battle, and I’ll try to get my revenge after a heartbreaking loss at last year’s Davis Cup,” Auger-Aliassime said.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev advanced to the semifinals by beating Lloyd Harris of South Africa 6-4, 3-6, 6-0.

Zverev was leading 6-4, 1-0 but dropped two of his four service games as Harris forced the third set. He rebounded as Harris struggled with a leg injury and he closed out the match in 1 hour, 46 minutes.

The seventh-ranked Zverev next faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard defeated Dennis Novak 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

Zverev is looking for his first title of the year and his third in his native Germany following victories at the clay-court Munich tournament in 2017 and 2018. It’s his first appearance in Germany since playing in Hamburg last year.

– With files from The Associated Press.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2020.

The Canadian Press