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Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime survived a stiff test from Maxime Cressy on Tuesday, beating the American 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The fourth-seeded Auger-Aliassime, from Montreal, evened the career series against the world No. 36 at 1-1 after losing to Cressy in the first round at Wimbledon last year.
Cressy saved 13 of 14 break points against the Canadian with Auger-Aliassime finally pulling through for the decisive break in the final set.
Cressy had trouble on serve, committing 25 double faults to Auger-Aliassime’s one.
Auger-Aliassime next faces Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
The Canadian is 2-0 against Sonego, including a win earlier this year at Rotterdam.
Auger-Aliassime has lost to Russian star Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, at his past two events.