Auger-Aliassime Edges Paul in Thrilling Adelaide Semi-Final

Felix Auger-Aliassime secured a hard-fought 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 win over Tommy Paul to reach the Adelaide International final.

Felix Auger-Aliassime emerged victorious in a grueling battle against Tommy Paul, securing a 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 win to reach the Adelaide International final on Friday. The Canadian, 24, needed four match points and nearly three hours to claim the hard-fought victory.

This triumph marks Auger-Aliassime's 16th career final and puts him one win away from his sixth title, coming just before the Australian Open. Unfortunately for Paul, the loss means he will have to wait to break into the top 10 for the first time in his career.

The semi-final match was a challenging one, with over 90 unforced errors committed by both players. Auger-Aliassime struggled to close out the match in straight sets, as Paul won six of the last seven games in the second set to force a decider. Reflecting on the match, Auger-Aliassime said, “I'll try and recover now for the final.”

Auger-Aliassime acknowledged the physical and mental demands of the match, stating, “The match was about physical and mental effort. There were a lot of ups and downs.” He also recognized that the match was not played at the highest level, adding, “It was not the best level from either of us, but sometimes matches are like that, you have to find a way through.”

FINALS IN ADELAIDE ‼️

🇨🇦 Felix Auger-Aliassime defeats #1 seed 🇺🇸 Tommy Paul 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 to advance to the finals of #AdelaideTennis 💪

It’s his 16th career ATP singles final 🔥

He’ll take on 🇺🇸 Sebastian Korda for the title next.

Allez @felixtennis 👏 👏

📸 Brake pic.twitter.com/aFeSXFvvXe

— Match Point Canada (@MatchPointCAN) January 10, 2025

Madison Keys, a two-time Australian Open semi-finalist, secured a spot in her second final at Memorial Drive with a hard-fought win over Liudmila Samsonova. The match ended with Keys leading 5-7, 7-5, 3-0, as Samsonova was forced to retire due to injury.

Keys, the 2022 Adelaide champion, expressed her excitement about reaching another final. “I'm excited to be in another final here,” she said. Despite a slow start, Keys managed to stay in the match and ultimately emerged victorious. “I was really happy to stay in the match. She played unbelievable at the start.”

Although Keys acknowledged that winning through retirement was not ideal, she was relieved to have persevered. “It's not how you want to win (through retirement) but I'm glad I was able to stick around and tough it out,” she said.