Confident FAA fights back into Dubai quarters

Felix Auger-Aliassime utilised his reservoir of confidence to stage a fightback over Nuno Borges to book the quarter-finals of the ATP Dubai event on Wednesday.

The unseeded Canadian pulled off a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in just under two and a half hours as he overcame his Portuguese opponent.

FAA won his 14th match of the season, which leads the ATP.

The 21st-ranked winner of two titles already this season (Adelaide, Montpellier) said growing confidence helped him through into the last eight at the Aviation Club.

“(The wins) help, I’ve been facing some very tight situations over the last weeks and months,” the winner said.

“It helps you keep your cool, keep trusting yourself. he played great and was causing me a lot of trouble. 

“In the first and third sets his level was really high. It helped to have a few wins behind me.”

The Canadian broke open the deciding set with a break in the fifth game and held the margin out to the second-round victory.

He will now test himself against Croat Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open winner on the comeback from a knee injury who defeated Alexei Popyrin in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4  comeback effort.

“I’m happy with the work that I’ve done,” the Canadian said. “I’ve had a good start to the year.

“I would have traded some of those wins for a deeper run at the Australian Open (he lost in the second round). But my time will come.”