(Reuters) – Felix Auger-Aliassime harnessed his mighty serve to down Briton Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-4 to delight his home crowd at the Canadian Masters on Thursday, while Norwegian Casper Ruud outlasted Roberto Bautista Agut in a closely-fought three sets.
Competing in his local town of Montreal, the 22-year-old Auger-Aliassime sent over 15 aces and won all but three of his first-serve points, breaking in the penultimate game of both sets on Centre Court.
British number one Norrie made five double faults and never had the momentum against a clinical Auger-Aliassime, who collected his first ATP title in Rotterdam this year and wrapped up Thursday’s affair in a tidy 72 minutes.
The U.S. Open semi-finalist will next face Norwegian Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals after the world number seven saw off Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 6-4.
“Montreal people are really proud people,” Auger-Aliassime was quoted as saying by the ATP, crediting the crowd with helping his performance.
“We are a small community in the world. We support each other in what we do, especially in professional sport.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
