It was an early exit for Félix Auger-Aliassime on Friday at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, as the Canadian fell 6-3, 6-2 to France’s Alexander Muller.
The world No. 74 struck nine winners and broke serve on three of eight opportunities to coast to the straight sets victory in just 78 minutes over the Canadian No. 1.
It was an off day for the 18th seed from Montreal, as Auger-Aliassime struggled with his rhythm and timing on the outdoor courts in Shanghai. After exchanging holds of serve through the first seven games, Muller capitalized on two errors from the Canadian to break serve for a 5-3 lead.
The Frenchman fought off a late stand from Auger-Aliassime, saving a break point chance before closing out the first set 6-3 in 38 minutes.
The second set would prove more lopsided, as Muller broke the Canadian in the first and third games to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
Auger-Aliassime saved a pair of match points on his own serve to hold late but trailing 5-2, he had no path back in the one-sided affair. Muller closed out the match on serve to wrap up the decisive victory.
With the loss, the world No. 22, who won bronze at the Paris Olympics earlier this year, drops to 30-23 overall on the season.
Shapovalov unable to slow down Shelton
Also on Friday, Ben Shelton once again got the better of Denis Shapovalov, overwhelming the Canadian 6-3, 7-5 to book a spot in the third round of Shanghai.
The 21-year-old American was near flawless on serve, firing 11 aces and facing zero break points in the 77-minute victory.
It marks the third time Shelton has defeated his fellow left hander this year. He also notched wins over Shapovalov at Wimbledon and the Citi Open in Washington.
After trading service holds through the first five games, a few cracks crept into the Canadian’s game. He misfired on a pair of forehands to give Shelton the break of serve and a 4-2 lead.
The world No. 16 closed out the set in blistering fashion, firing four consecutive aces to take the opener 6-3 in just 30 minutes.
In the second set, as Shapovalov raised his aggression and shot making to stay on even terms with the powerful American.
The Canadian saw off two break point chances to hold for a 5-4 lead but could not resist Shelton in his next service game.
A missed backhand volley granted the 16th seed a 6-5 edge, and the 21-year-old finished the match on his serve, closing it out with a forehand volley to wrap up the 6-3, 7-5 victory.
The American improves his head-to-head to a perfect 3-0 against his fellow left hander. Despite the loss, Shapovalov is projected to return inside the Top 100 of the ATP rankings on Monday.
