Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime started off his defence of his Swiss Indoors tennis title with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi.
Auger-Aliassime, ranked 19th in the world and seeded sixth in Basel, won 58 per cent of total points and broke No. 162 Riedi four times on six chances.
The Canadian faced break point just twice, saving one, in a match that took just over one hour 15 minutes to complete.
Auger-Aliassime will next face Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp, who upset Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-2.
The Montrealer and world No. 65 van de Zandschulp have split their previous two meetings, with the Dutchman winning their most recent match at Indian Wells in 2022.
Auger-Aliassime’s win at Basel last year capped off a run of three consecutive titles in a breakout campaign that included an earlier title and a key role in Canada’s first ever Davis Cup victory.
He has struggled to continue that success in 2023. Wednesday’s win evened his season record at 18-18.
