Auger-Aliassime bumps slump to beat qualifier at Barcelona Open
Third-seeded Canadian to face No. 13 Frances Tiafoe in Round of 16 on Thursday
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime shook off his recent rust to win his opening match at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
"It was unfortunate that I lost my rhythm a little bit in the second set, lost my serve too many times, but I credit him also for defending well, showing a great level for a clay-court player," Auger-Aliassime said.
The Montreal native landed 71 per cent of his first serves with seven aces, while Taberner, the world No. 94, connected on 81 per cent of his first serves but had no aces.
Auger-Aliassime slumped into the tournament, with just one win in his previous four events.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime downs Taberner in 3 sets:
His recent struggles followed a highly successful start to the season that saw him help Canada win the ATP Cup, move on to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, win his first ATP title in Rotterdam and advance to the final in Marseille.
Auger-Aliassime will meet American Frances Tiafoe, the No. 13 seed, on Thursday.
Tiafoe advanced to the Round of 16 with a 7-6, 6-1 win over Hugo Dellien of Bolivia on Wednesday.
Alcaraz wins; Tsitsipas to finish match Thursday
Playing on home soil for the first time in nearly a year, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Soonwoo Kwon 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 in his opening match at the Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
The 11th-ranked Spaniard, seeking his third title in 2022, improved to 19-3 this season. He was coming off an early exit in Monte Carlo after winning in Rio de Janeiro and Miami.
The 18-year-old Alcaraz hadn't played in Spain since losing to idol Rafael Nadal in the round of 32 of the Madrid Open last May.
"It was tough to keep up with the score in the second set," Alcaraz said after beating his 71st-ranked opponent from South Korea. "I think he started to play really well. And then I [started] very well at the third."
The fifth-seeded Alcaraz will next face countryman Jaume Munar, who defeated ninth-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 6-4.
Top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas was 5-1 up in the first set when his match against 44th-ranked Ilya Ivashka had to be suspended overnight because of rain. The match will continue on Thursday morning.
Eighth-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta defeated qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3, 6-3 in an all-Spanish match, while Marton Fucsovics beat veteran Federico Delbonis 6-2, 6-1.
Alex de Minaur defeated Ugo Humbert 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
With files from The Associated Press
