Felix Auger-Aliassime continued his hot play on hard indoor courts, defeating Alexander Bublik 7-6(3), 6-4, to reach his first Paris Masters final.
With the win, the 25-year-old Canadian also moved into 8th place ahead of Lorenzo Musetti in the Tour of Turin standings.
“I have deep confidence in my game. I know what I can do against the best players in the world, but you still have to go and execute. I did very well today and I’m happy with the result,” the Canadian said on the court after the win.
It was a tale of two games, with zero breaks recorded in a clear opening set and five breaks – three for Auger-Aliassime – in the second set.
One of the breaks left Bublik out of sorts and he smashed his racquet down the baseline. After the finishes were changed, Auger-Aliassime brushed up the debris and the pair shared a funny moment with the Kazakh giving Auger-Aliassime the heart emoji hand signal as he smiled.
Bublik led 4-2 but the Canadian reeled off the last four games to close out a satisfying victory.
The 10th-ranked Canadian is in his 20th career final overall.
Auger-Aliassime hit 31 winners to 15 for Bublik, including 17 from the wing. He won 85 percent of his first serve points and outscored Bublik 12 to 5.
Auger-Aliassime will face Jannik Sinner or Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final in the French capital.
