Defending Champion Auger-Aliassime Tops Wawrinka to Return to Montpellier Quarters

By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, February 5, 2026
Photo credit: Tennis TV

Felix Auger-Aliassime continues to rise under the roof.

Today, defending champion Auger-Aliassime closed the curtain on Stan Wawrinka to power into the Montpellier quarterfinals.

The top-seeded Auger-Aliassime cracked 16 aces and denied three of four break points defeating Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6(3) to reach quarterfinals for the ninth time in his last 10 tournaments since the start of August.

In his first appearance since cramps forced him to retire from his Australian Open opener vs. Nuno Borges last month, Auger-Aliassime battled Wawrinka in the first meeting between the pair.

“I know him very well. I watched him being the legendary player he is,” Auger-Aliassime said of Wawrkina. “The resilience, the hard work, he’s been an example for all us young players.

“It’s crazy that we never played before. It was great to share the court with him.”

Auger-Aliassime, who leads the ATP Tour in indoor victories this decade with 86, drew a pair of forehand errors for double break point in the seventh game. When Wawrinka double faulted, the Canadian had the break and a 4-3 lead. Whipping a forehand crosscourt, Auger-Aliassime consolidated at 15 for 5-3.

Serving for the set, Auger-Aliassime saved two break points, pounding down his fifth ace and a serve winner before banging another big serve to snatch a one-set lead after 41 minutes.

Credit the 40-year-old Wawrinka for coming back from a break down to break back at 15 and level the second set at 3-all.

The three-time Grand Slam champion stamped successive love holds for a 6-5 lead. Auger-Aliassime answered with a love hold to force the second-set tiebreaker.

Fortune favored the 25-year-old Canadian, who earned the mini break with a forehand volley then caught a break when his forehand return crashed into the tape and crawled over for another mini break and a 4-1 lead. Auger-Aliassime thumped two aces in a row to earn five match points.

On his third match point, Auger-Aliassime threw down another serve winner to return to the quarterfinals. The world No. 8 will play a Frenchman, either sixth-seeded Arthur Fils, who is on the comeback trail from a back injury, or lucky loser Ugo Blanchet, for a semifinal spot.

Earlier, world No. 106 Luca Nardi upset second-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 in an all-Italian match-up. IT was Nardi’s fourth Tour-level win over Davis Cup hero Cobolli in as many meetings.

Nardi will play lethal-serving American qualifier Martin Damm, Jr. for a semifinal spot. Damm, Jr., who beat Hubert Hurkacz in the previous round, ripped 11 aces and won 22 of 27 first-serve points dismissing Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3 in 55 minutes.