GRANBY, August 2, 2016

The ATP Challenger Tour has returned to the Saint Luc Tennis Club for the $100,000 Banque Nationale Granby Challenger and 15-year-old Félix Auger-Aliassime continues his pro-transition, appearing in his fifth ATP Challenger event.

Last year, the Canadian teenager came through qualifying to reach the quarterfinals in Granby. At 14 years old, he became the youngest player to win a main draw Challenger match and the youngest player to break into the Top 800.

This year, howerver,he lost his opening match on Monday to Sekou Bangoura 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 in one hour and 52 minutes. Auger-Aliassime seemed to be nervous at the beginning of the encounter and despite an ecouraging first set, the world number five in the ITF Junior Rankings, produced too many unforced errors, which cost him the victory. “I was very hard on myself. I felt a lot of pressure because of public expectations and my entourage. I was frustrated, as I could not find a good feeling on court today,” he said.

Bangoura will next take on Andrej Golubev. The 29-year-old from Kazakhstan upset the tournament’s number three Saketh Myneni, winning 6-1, 6-3. Golubev saved all of the five break points he faced, converting four of his own to seal victory in 65 minutes.