Auger-Aliassime First to Qualify for the Semifinals in Dubai
It's time for the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai. Félix Auger-Aliassime, the only player to have won two titles on the ATP circuit this season and already boasting 14 victories since January, arrives with confidence and is the favorite for his match against Marin Cilic.
However, caution is warranted with the Croatian, who is regaining good form and has eliminated Alex De Minaur and Alexei Popyrin since the beginning of the week. The encounter promises to be uncertain, especially since Cilic leads the head-to-head with three wins to one.
In this match, a single break in the first two sets allowed each player to win a set. In the first, Auger-Aliassime managed to take his opponent's serve at 3-3 and remained solid on his serve to maintain his lead until the end of the set.
In the second set, Cilic broke at love at 2-1 in his favor to take a decisive advantage and force a third and final set.
During the decisive set, the games were closely contested. The Canadian achieved a break in the middle of the set.
Cilic subsequently missed his chance by failing to convert a break point, and in the following game, the winner of the Adelaide and Montpellier tournaments this season eventually closed out the match (6-4, 3-6, 6-2).
Auger-Aliassime, a semifinalist in Doha last week, advances to the semifinals in Dubai, where he will face the winner of the match taking place immediately after on the central court between Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi and French qualifier Quentin Halys.
Dubaï 
