MELBOURNE, Australia — Two sets into his delayed second-round singles match on Wednesday, social media was abuzz with tennis upset alerts.
It appeared, after uninspired 6-3, 6-3 setbacks, that sixth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal was going to become the first major upset victim of the 2023 Australian Open.
But Alex Molcan, the 25-year-old Slovakian singles star, sputtered and then collapsed, as Auger-Aliassime stormed back with spirited 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victories to avoid an early exit at Melbourne Park.
.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
Auger-Aliassime, who struggled out of the gates in the first round before bouncing Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver in four sets, started even slower against Molcan, but appeared by the fourth set to have run his rival out of gas.
“I had belief in myself after winning the third set. I had come back before and I felt I could do it again. But boy, it was a difficult day,” said Auger-Aliassime, who finished with 23 aces in the match that took three hours and three minutes to complete.
Auger-Aliassime will next face the winner of a match between No. 28 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina and Corentin Moutet of France.
Outside of Grand Slams, Auger-Aliassime has been a huge force over the past year. He won four tournament titles last year and also led Canada to the Davis Cup title.
All the matches on Monday night were delayed by four to six hours due to heavy rains and slippery courts.
Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, who was scheduled to play Cristina Bucsa of Moldova at 7 p.m. ET, was still waiting to play her second-round singles match six-and-a-half hours later.
Andreescu defeated Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-4 of Czechia in the first round of the Open, while Busca bounced Eva Lys of Ukraine 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.
And Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., was waiting to play his second-round match against Taro Daniel of New York when Auger-Aliassime walked off the court.
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
gap: 20px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}
