Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime falls to Medvedev 6-2, 6-4 in Rotterdam quarterfinals

Félix Auger-Aliassime’s bid for a second straight Rotterdam Open title came to an end Friday with a 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal loss to Daniil Medvedev.

Auger-Aliassime won his first career ATP Tour title at the indoor tennis tournament last year. He went on to win three more indoor titles and help Canada to a Davis Cup championship in a breakout season.

On Friday, however, Medvedev proved more than a match for Auger-Aliassime and improved to 5-0 against the world No. 8 from Montreal.

Get daily Montreal news

Get the day's top stories from Montreal and surrounding communities, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily Montreal newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The Russian veteran, who came into the tournament ranked No. 11 on the ATP Tour but was No. 1 as recently as Aug. 29, scored two straight breaks to take a 5-2 lead in the first set.

Auger-Aliassime challenged to get back in the set, but Medvedev overcame double-break point in the eighth game, setting up set point with an ace then taking the set when Auger-Aliassime committed an unforced error.

The players exchanged breaks early in the second set, with Auger-Aliassime’s only break of the match levelling the set at 2-2.

Medvedev scored a key break in the seventh game when Auger-Aliassime hit a shot wide and held on for a win that took just over one hour 23 minutes to complete.

Medvedev will next face Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, who advanced to the semifinals with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6) win over Australia’s Alex de Minaur.