Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime was pushed to the limit before narrowly defeating Germany’s Maximilian Marterer 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), and 7-6 (3) in the first round of the Bavarian International Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

Auger-Aliassime, firing 11 aces, overcame the unseeded Marterer in a marathon match that lasted three hours and 25 minutes on the clay court.

It was the first-ever career matchup between the two players.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked 34th in the world, now holds a record of 10-9 this season, following his recent elimination in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters last week. Marterer, ranked 101st in the world, is winless in seven matches in 2024.

Auger-Aliassime will face Taro Daniel of Japan in the next round of the ATP 250 series tournament. Daniel defeated Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 6-3, 6-4.

Also Tuesday, Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., was eliminated from the Tiriac Open in Bucharest, Romania after dropping his first-round match 6-4, 6-2 to France’s Corentin Moutet.

– This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2024.