A powerful service game gave Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime a distinct advantage in his third-round match at the National Bank Open on Thursday afternoon.
The sixth-seeded Auger-Aliassime fired 15 aces in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the ninth-seeded Brit to earn a quarterfinal berth at his hometown tournament.
"I got a bit lucky," he said. "He can hit double-faults, but I've never seen him hit three double-faults in a game like that. That was a bit fortunate." Auger-Aliassime and Ruud are the two highest seeded players remaining in the draw. Top-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece all lost their opening matches on Wednesday at IGA Stadium.
There was a clear home-court advantage this time around. The crowd let out a roar as soon as Auger-Aliassime was pictured on the stadium screens for his walk through the tunnel to centre court. Eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz also advanced Thursday as he outlasted Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-7 , 6-2, 7-6 while Nick Kyrgios beat fellow Australian Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-3.
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