The Frenchman, winner in straight sets, will face a second Canadian in the next round, Denis Shapovalov.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard qualified for the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel, beating in the second round on Thursday the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime (19th) 6-1, 7-6 (8/6), just like Arthur Winning son of the Spaniard Pedro Martinez (39th).
Mpetshi Perricard will face another Canadian, Denis Shapovalov (95th), in the next round. Never worried about his serve and carried by his 22 aces, the 50th player in the world quickly broke Auger-Aliassime before easily winning the first set by scoring five consecutive games.
In the second set, the Canadian regained his tennis on his games but remained helpless in the face of the force of service of the 21-year-old Frenchman, author of second balls at more than 220 km/h. Despite a double fault, only his second, and a mini-break conceded in the decisive game, Mpetshi Perricard turned the situation around. At 6 all in the tie-break, he offered himself a match point thanks to a well-felt cushioned volley before concluding with his serve.
Also winner in two sets on Thursday (7-5, 6-3), Arthur Fils will face the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he beat in the semi-finals of the Antwerp tournament a year ago, in October 2023, during their first confrontation.
Against Martinez, the French No.2 offered himself a very competitive first set by taking the Spaniard’s service a second time in this set, when he was serving to equalize at 6-6, thanks to two shots winning rights. In the second set, the Ile-de-France native, never worried about his service games, made the break at 4-3, to win this set on his first match point, thanks to a new winning forehand.
