Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime marked his comeback on the court with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. Despite being the second seed at the tournament, Auger-Aliassime faced challenges with the wind during the match, especially in the second set. He missed the opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4 but managed to break back in the following game. Auger-Aliassime sealed the win with his seventh ace on match point.

Reflecting on the match, Auger-Aliassime acknowledged the difficult conditions caused by the wind, emphasizing his struggle with serving power. The 26-year-old, playing his first match in 40 days, expressed satisfaction with his victory, considering his recent health issues since Wimbledon.

Having historically found it tough to defeat Tsitsipas, Auger-Aliassime secured only his fourth win in 11 encounters against the Greek player. His next challenge will be against Juan Cerundolo of Argentina, whom he has faced three times previously, winning only once. Cerundolo caused an upset by defeating 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech of France in a tightly contested match on Sunday.

In the women’s event, Chinese qualifier Xiyu Wang pulled off a comeback victory against 30th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Quebec, with a scoreline of 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Wang, aged 25 and previously ranked No. 49 in the world, started slowly but dominated the latter part of the match. Fernandez, who had a strong showing at the National Bank Open in Toronto, struggled with her serve, winning only seven out of 12 service games compared to Wang’s nine out of 12.