Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime defeats top seed Tommy Paul to reach the final at the Adelaide International

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the final of the Adelaide International on Friday, defeating top seed American Tommy Paul in the semifinals.

Fifth-seeded Auger-Aliassime of Montreal won 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4 in a grueling three-set battle that lasted two hours and 45 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime won 74 percent of his first serve points to Paul’s 69 percent, earning his second career victory over the 12th-ranked American, having also beaten him in Indian Wells in 2023.

“It was a fight. It was about physical and mental effort because it was a game with a lot of ups and downs,” said Auger-Aliassime.

“I feel like it wasn’t the best level of both players, but sometimes games are like that. “You have to fight with what you have and find a way and I’m really glad I did that today .”

Auger-Aliassime will face No. 2 seed Sebastian Korda in the final on Saturday.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked No. 29 in the world, is seeking his sixth career ATP Tour title and his first since 2023.

The Adelaide tournament serves as a warm-up for the Australian Open, which begins this weekend. Auger-Aliassime will face German Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament.