Auger-Aliassime overcomes tough test against American Learner Tien to reach Halle Open quarters

Montreal's Félix Auger-Aliassime narrowly avoided an upset at the Terra Wortmann Open, rallying for a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) win over Learner Tien of the United States in second-round action Wednesday in Halle, Germany.

Auger-Aliassime, the tennis tournament's second seed, trailed 4-1 and 5-3 in the third-set tiebreaker before clinching the match in two hours 31 minutes with four straight points.

The match was close despite Auger-Aliassime's dominance on serve. He had 22 aces and won 88 per cent of first-serve points.

Breaks were hard to come by, with Auger-Aliassime converting two and Tien scoring one. But Auger-Aliassime's win against serve to go up 6-5 in the second set was a turning point in a match that left little room for error.

A loss to world No. 19 Tien at the ATP 500 event would have put Auger-Aliassime's career-high ranking of No. 4 in jeopardy, with No. 5 Alex de Minaur and No. 6 Ben Shelton still playing in tournaments this week.

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Instead, a quarterfinal win in Halle over Frances Tiafoe will ensure he retains that ranking deeper into the grass-court season.

Auger-Aliassime is 3-0 against Tiafoe, but hasn't faced the American since the Paris Masters quarterfinals in 2022.

Canada's Leylah Fernandez and Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva advanced to the doubles quarterfinals at the Nottingham Open with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Taiwan's Wu Fang-Hsien and Japan's Eri Hozumi on Wednesday in England.

Fernandez and Starodubtseva were strong on serve, winning 81 per cent of first-serve points and 64 per cent on second serve.

The winners saved both break points they faced, while converting breaks on five of seven chances.

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