Auger-Aliassime closes in on ATP Finals spot with win over Vacherot in Paris

Félix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the semifinals of the Paris Masters tennis tournament and picked up crucial points in his bid to qualify for the year-ending ATP Finals.

Auger-Aliassime moved on with a 6-2, 6-2 win over wild card Valentin Vacherot of Monaco on Friday and will face either sixth-seed Alex de Minaur of Australia or 23rd-seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the final four.

The win over the in-form Vacherot also moved Auger-Aliassime just 90 points behind Lorenzo Musetti in the race for the eighth and final berth at the ATP Finals, which kicks off next month in Turin, Italy. A semifinal win would move Auger-Aliassime past the Italian, who lost in the second round in Paris.

Auger-Aliassime had been grinding out three-set wins and fighting through tiebreaks heading into the quarterfinals, while Vacherot was on a 10-match winning streak at the ATP 1000 level. He won the last Masters-level event earlier this month in Shanghai.

But Auger-Aliassime, seeded ninth in Paris, seemed to find another gear against Vacherot. The 25-year-old from Montreal won 89 per cent of first-serve points and saved the only two break points he faced.

He held Vacherot to 6-of-39 on return points, while winning 49 per cent (30 of 61) of his returns and breaking his opponent four times.

Auger-Aliassime is trying for his ninth career title and first at the Masters level.