Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime Falls To Sonego At Monte Carlo Masters | CBC Sports

ROUNDUP

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime was eliminated from the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters tournament on Wednesday after dropping a second-round match 6-4, 7-5 to Lorenzo Sonego of Italy.

Italian has 2-2 record vs. opponent; Defending champ Rublev ousted in 2nd roundThe Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 10, 2024 8:56 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, pictured, fired just three aces while committing 13 unforced errors in his third-round loss at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday in France. (Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images)Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime was eliminated from the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters tournament on Wednesday after dropping a second-round match 6-4, 7-5 to Lorenzo Sonego of Italy.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked 35th in the world, fired just three aces while committing 13 unforced errors in a two-hour and two-minute match.

Sonego, ranked 57th, was a “lucky loser” replacement for world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who pulled out of the tournament on Tuesday because of a muscle injury to his right forearm.

With the win, Sonego evened his career record against Auger-Aliassime at 2-2.

He will next play either Zhizhen Zhang of China or 14th-seeded Ugo Humbert of France in the round of 16.

WATCH | Auger-Aliassime eliminated from Monte Carlo Masters:

Felix Auger-Aliassime eliminated from the Monte-Carlo MastersCanadian Felix Auger-Aliassime loses in straight sets (6-4,7-5) to Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Sinner boasts 23-1 record this yearAfter dominating on aggressive hard courts, Jannik Sinner made a smooth transition to softer clay by beating Sebastian Korda 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.

But defending champion Andrey Rublev was eliminated after a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Alexei Popyrin.

Sinner won 95 percent of points on his first serve and saved all three break points in improving his record to 23-1 this year. He has three titles in 2024, including the Australian Open — his first major trophy — and recently the Miami Open.

“I moved quite well in these conditions,” said the 22-year-old Italian, who reached the semifinals at Monte Carlo last year. “Every year it is tough to come here and perform well but I am happy with the performance.”

Sinner next faces Jan-Lennard Struff on Thursday in the third round, where he will join two-time champions Novak Djokovic, who won on Tuesday, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 12th-seeded Tsitsipas routed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 6-0, breaking his serve six times, and next faces No. 5 Alexander Zverev.

The sixth-seeded Rublev dropped his serve three times against Popyrin, who next faces No. 11 Alex de Minaur in an all-Australian contest at the Monte Carlo Country Club, which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.

“I am feeling really comfortable on [clay] and happy to beat a guy who was in form, confident and the defending champ,” Popyrin said. “It was an awesome match.”

De Minaur rallied past unseeded Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Also in the second round, there were wins for No. 14 Ugo Humbert, No. 15 Karen Khachanov and lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego, who replaced the injured Carlos Alcaraz after he pulled out on Tuesday with a right forearm injury.

Record 11-time Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal pulled out with a lingering injury before the tournament.