Canadian tennis star Félix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarterfinals of the Libema Open with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Hungary's Marton Fucsovics on Thursday.
The top seed from Montreal didn't face a break point and broke Fucsovics twice on four chances to win his first singles match of the grass-court season.
Auger-Aliassime, who had a bye in the first round, improved his record against Fucsovics to 5-2.
He will next face Poland's Kamil Majchrzak as he looks to make the most of the short grass season, which will be capped by Wimbledon starting June 29 at London's All England Club.
“We don’t get to play many tournaments on grass,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It’s a surface I like. I’ve always felt good on the surface.
"It’s nice to be back on grass, but in the first match, you’re not sure what to expect. You have to be careful how you move around. There’s a lot of adjustments, but we’re very focused and we try to adjust as well as possible.”
Canadians were 0-6 in singles play to start the grass-court season earlier this week, including a walkover loss because of a knee injury for Victoria Mboko.
The win assured Auger-Aliassime of keeping his career-high ATP Tour ranking of No. 4, which he claimed by advancing to the quarterfinals of the French Open.
"My life hasn’t changed,” Auger-Aliassime said of his ranking. "I have a great family and great people around me all year. It’s a progression.
"There’s three guys ahead of me now, and a lot of guys below me that are very good and deserve to be in this position. You have to fight hard. It’s like a rent you have to pay every month: You have to show up on the court."
In doubles action, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and France's Lois Boisson fell 6-1, 6-4 to Taiwan's Liang En-shuo and Japan's Shuko Aoyama in a women's quarterfinal.
Montreal's Gabriel Diallo and Poland's Hubert Hurkacz were set to face the Dutch team of Sander Arends and David Pel later in a men's doubles quarterfinal.
--with files from Sportsnet Staff
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