"At the end of the day in tennis, it's how you finish" - Auger-Aliassime on close win over Mager in Paris

Felix Auger-Aliassime struggled in his opening round match against qualifier Gianluca Mager at the Paris Masters, but lived to fight another day as he defeated the Italian to advance to the second round.

The ninth seed fought back from a set deficit to prevail 4-6 6-4 6-1, keeping his hopes of qualification for the ATP Finals in Turin alive. The Canadian must win the title and hope Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner don't reach the latter stages of the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“I had difficulty with my pace at the beginning of the match,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I didn't hit enough first serves so I had a bit of pressure on my second serve. So I could have served better in the first set.

"I had a poor game at 4-all and I got broken, but even before that there were moments at 30-all it was a bit hot and a bit tight. I think I relaxed. I found a better pace at the beginning of the second set, and it went even better as the match went forward.”

Despite his poor start, the 21-year old was able to build momentum in the second set, before establishing control and running away with the decider.

"At the end of the day in tennis, it's how you finish," added Auger-Aliassime. "It's not about how you start."