HALLE — Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime narrowly avoided an upset at the Terra Wortmann Open, rallying for a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) win over Learner Tien of the United States in second-round action Wednesday.

Auger-Aliassime, the tennis tournament’s second seed, trailed 4-1 and 5-3 in the third-set tiebreaker before clinching the match in two hours 31 minutes with four straight points.

The match was close despite Auger-Aliassime’s dominance on serve. He had 22 aces and won 88 per cent of first-serve points.

Breaks were hard to come by, with Auger-Aliassime converting two and Tien scoring one. But Auger-Aliassime’s win against serve to go up 6-5 in the second set was a turning point in a match that left little room for error.

A loss to world No. 19 Tien at the ATP 500 event would have put Auger-Aliassime’s career-high ranking of No. 4 in jeopardy, with No. 5 Alex de Minaur and No. 6 Ben Shelton still playing in tournaments this week.

Instead, a quarterfinal win in Halle over Frances Tiafoe will ensure he retains that ranking deeper into the grass-court season.

Auger-Aliassime is 3-0 against Tiafoe, but hasn’t faced the American since the Paris Masters quarterfinals in 2022. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2026.