Felix Auger-Aliassime has reached the second Masters 1000 final of his career after overcoming the test of Alexander Bublik.
Auger-Aliassime beat Bublik in straight sets to reach the Paris Masters final and continue his bid for a place in the ATP Finals.
This is the second Masters 1000 final of the Canadian’s career, and Auger-Aliassime has now made history in Paris.
Despite winning by a relatively comfortable scoreline, Auger-Aliassime has now admitted that he found playing Bublik anything but straightforward.
Felix Auger-Aliassime says what he finds so challenging about playing Alexander Bublik
Auger-Aliassime beat Bublik, 7-6(3) 6-4, to reach the Paris Masters final and after the match he spoke to Tennis Channel.
In this interview, Auger-Aliassime was asked specifically about the match and praised Bublik for how he served throughout, despite hitting seven more aces than his opponent.
“It was big hitting, big serving. I was expecting a tight one and it was a tight one,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It felt like in the tight set, no one got any really clear looks, I got to deuce at some point, but didn’t get a clear look.
“He was serving so good, mixing up the serve as well, so I wasn’t quite getting the read. He’s so efficient, when the ball is on his racket, whether it’s a forehand or a backhand, he just hits so clean and so efficiently that it’s tough to do anything, but I tried to stay in there, stayed locked in, got the tiebreak.
“Then it was a tricky second set, I wasn’t controlling the ball as well, I was making some bad mistakes, but I thought, maybe he’s going to struggle too, so let me stay in this, stay calm, positive body language and try to come back.”
Bublik is known for being an unpredictable player, and that is also something that Auger-Aliassime admitted he found difficult.
“You have to stay sharp, because you don’t know if an underarm serve is coming, or a serve and volley, or a serve and drop shot, so it’s quite difficult, tricky to play,” added Auger-Aliassime. “But he’s been very locked in, very focused, playing some of the best tennis of his life this year, so you have got to give him credit.”
Felix Auger-Aliassime explains how the Paris Masters is different to his first ATP 1000 final
The first and only other Masters 1000 final Auger-Aliassime reached came at the Madrid Open in 2024, where he lost to Andrey Rublev.
Despite comparisons being made to the two tournaments, Auger-Aliassime has explained why his runs have been completely different.
“The Madrid final was weird in a way, got retirements and walkovers, so didn’t get much court time, got plenty of court time this week!” said Auger-Aliassime.
“Three, three-setters to start the tournament, I think my body language wasn’t as good in the first matches, but I really tried after the third round, coming into the quarterfinals, I told my team I need to step up the body language, be positive, make the right adjustments.
“And against Valentin [Vacherot] and today, I played some great, solid tennis. I always try for myself, and for my opponent, show a strong body language.”
Auger-Aliassime will now play Jannik Sinner, who will become world number one if he wins the Paris Masters final.
Sinner spoke about playing Auger-Aliassime after thrashing Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal, and their head-to-head is actually at two wins apiece.
However, both of their most recent matches have seen Sinner beat Auger-Aliassime, including in the most recent US Open semifinals.
Not only is a first Masters 1000 title on the line for Auger-Aliassime, but also a chance to put himself within touching distance of confirming his qualification for the ATP Finals.
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