ATP Tour

Auger-Aliassime delivers on debut in Mallorca

Felix Auger-Aliassime wasted little time making an impact Tuesday at the Mallorca Championships presented by ecotrans Group.

Making his debut at the grass-court ATP 250, Auger-Aliassime showed his class at key moments to clinch a 7-5, 6-3 triumph against Arthur Rinderknech. The second-seeded Canadian let slip an early 3-1 lead but crucially broke his opponent’s serve in the closing stages of both sets to secure a one-hour, 53-minute second-round victory.

“It was a good [opening] round,” said Auger-Aliassime in his on-court interview. “Playing on centre court here is a little bit different. [It was just] adjusting, and he has a great serve so on grass it is never easy. Two contested sets, but in the end, I came out victorious, so I’m really happy with the win.”

The No. 27 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Auger-Aliassime struck 24 winners to Rinderknech’s 15 in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. He also won 81 per cent (25/31) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Tuesday’s victory was Auger-Aliassime’s fourth of the 2025 grass season. The 24-year-old, who reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart two weeks ago, will take on Hamad Medjedovic in the last eight after the Serbian earlier defeated Roman Safiullin 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).

Fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor also booked his quarter-final spot by prevailing 7-5, 6-4 against Ethan Quinn in his first match since Roland Garros after an abdominal injury. The Dutchman will face ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion Gabriel Diallo, a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 winner against Laslo Djere, for a semi-final berth.

In the remaining first-round action, Roberto Bautista Agut overcame Tomas Martin Etcheverry 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to book a meeting with Bernard Tomic. The Australian qualifier Tomic, a former World No. 17, defeated Rinky Hijikata 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in his first tour-level match since the 2021 Australian Open.