Dubai, Feb. 24 -- Felix Auger-Aliassime made a winning return to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, defeating China's Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 7-6(4) to advance to the second round on Monday.
The top-seeded Canadian, currently ranked No. 8 in the ATP standings, needed six match points to seal the straight-sets victory in his opening match of the ATP 500 event. Auger-Aliassime, who finished runner-up last year, is aiming to go one better in this year's edition, as per the ATP Tour website.
"I stopped counting at some point; it was getting too frustrating," Auger-Aliassime said after the match. "Having match points is the position you want to be in as a player, but it's weird how the mind plays tricks on you."The 25-year-old, who retired i...