German teenager Engel's historic run ends in straight-set loss to Auger-Aliassime

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — A day after Justin Engel became the youngest tennis player in 40 years to reach a men’s tour quarterfinal on grass, his run at the Stuttgart Open ended with a loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday.

The 17-year-old German gave former U.S. Open semifinalist Auger-Aliassime a tough fight in the first set before the Canadian took a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win.

Auger-Aliassime next plays second-seeded Taylor Fritz in the semifinals. The Canadian’s victory keeps up a record of reaching the semifinals all three times he’s played in Stuttgart. He was runner-up in 2019 and 2021.

Engel’s upset win over U.S. player Alex Michelsen on Thursday made him the youngest player to reach the quarters of any tour-level men’s grass-court event since Boris Becker won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 1985.

Engel this week also became the second-youngest player since 1990, behind Rafael Nadal, to have won a match on all three surfaces — grass, clay and hard-court — on the tour.