Mixed results for the top two seeds, with Felix Auger Aliassime, the defending champion and top seed, advancing to the quarterfinals, while his future final opponent, second-seeded Flavio Cobolli, crashed out.
It was great to share the court with him Very satisfied Auger
It was a winning start for the Canadian who faced veteran Swiss warrior Stan Wawrinka, who competed for the last time in the Open Occitanie, 250-level event at the age of 40.
Auger Aliassime won 6-4 7-6(3) and showed no sign of the problems that forced him to retire in his first round match at the Australian Open.
After his victory, he praised his opponent.
“I know him very well,” says the 25-year-old. “Growing up all these years – watching him become the legendary player that he is – we all dream of having a career like he had. The winning, but also the resilience, the hard work, the consistency.
“He’s been an example to all of us young players. It’s crazy that we’ve never played before and I said to him in the changing rooms in Australia, ‘It’s crazy that we haven’t played before’, and then it happens. It was great to share the field with him.”
His next opponent is sixth-seeded Arthur Fils, who is competing in his first tournament in five months. The young Frenchman has now battled past two of his compatriots to reach this stage, namely Valentin Rover (7-6(7) 6-7(2) 6-2 and Lucky Loser, Ugo Blanchet 7-6(4) 7-5.
In an all-Italian battle at the bottom of the draw, Luca Nardi upset second seed Flavio Cobolli 6-2 6-3 to reach his second tour-level quarter-final and meet American qualifier Martin Damm. It appears that Nardi is proving to be a problem for Cobolli, who has now yet to beat him in four encounters.
Fourth seed Tallon Greekpoor dispatched experienced Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4 6-4 to record his first win since October. The Dutchman will next face French qualifier Titoan Droguet after the home hope defeated last year’s finalist from the United States, eighth seed Aleksander Kovacevic, 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4.
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