MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -- Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to the final of the Murray River Open.
The No. 3 seed, from Montreal, downed world No. 80 Corentin Moutet of France 6-1, 6-2 in a semifinal at the Australian Open tune-up tournament on Saturday.
Auger-Aliassime will face No. 8 seed Daniel Evans of Great Britain in the final of the ATP Tour event on Sunday (Saturday night Eastern Time). Evans beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal.
Auger-Aliassime won 25 of 27 first-service points against Moutet.
"Everything went well from my side and I served well, a bit like last night," Auger-Aliassime said in an on-court interview. "I'm playing well and feeling healthy. I am trying to finish the week strong. I need to keep doing the things I'm doing well. I need to serve well and be dominant tomorrow (against Evans)."
The 20-year-old Auger-Aliassime, ranked 21st in the world, has an 0-6 lifetime record in ATP Tour finals.
Evans, the world No. 33, also is looking for his first career title. He is 0-2 in finals.
The Canadian is gearing up for his second main-draw appearance of his career at the Australian Open. He lost in the first round of the Grand Slam last year.
The 20th-seeded Auger-Aliassime will face German lucky loser Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the first round this year.
Auger-Aliassime is one of seven Canadian players in the singles draws at the Australian Open, which begins Monday (Sunday night Eastern Time).
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.
