After advancing to the main draw of the Miami Open on Wednesday, Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime secured a trip to the second round after defeating Norway's Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday.
Auger-Aliassime overcame a subpar first set, in which he faced five break points against the No. 98-ranked Ruud. The Canadian's strong first serve led the way to a comeback as he won 78 percent of his initial offerings compared to 62 percent for the Norwegian.
ALLEZ!
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) March 21, 2019
Félix Auger-Aliassime wins 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 over Casper Ruud to reach the second round of the #MiamiOpen in his main draw debut. He'll face Marton Fucsovics next. #FélixRising
(📷: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour) pic.twitter.com/5517bqI0x9
Battling the Florida humidity, the 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime caught fire in the final two sets, winning 12 of his final 15 games to defeat Ruud. The No. 57-ranked Auger-Aliassime, who had to qualify for the tournament with a win over Italy's Paolo Lorenzi, is coming off a third-round exit in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Auger-Aliassime's performance in California included a win over world No. 10 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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The Canadian teen will meet 29th seed Marton Fucsovics of Hungary on Friday. He will be one of three Canadians in action on Friday as Bianca Andreescu, fresh off her comeback win, will face Sofia Kenin while Milos Raonic prepares for Max Marterer.