Paris, France: Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime needed six match points before despatching Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in the first round of the ATP 500 event in Dubai on Monday.
"I stopped counting at some point, it was getting too frustrating," said the Canadian.
"Having match points is the position you want to be in as a player, but it's weird how the mind plays a trick on you. How much further I am from losing than he is, he should be the one that's tight."
Auger-Aliassime, the losing finalist in Dubai last season, has reached the final of his last two tournaments this season -- winning in Montpellier before losing in Rotterdam.
He will next face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard whose big serve saved him in two tie-breaks as he beat Tunisian Moez Echargui 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4) for a first tour win since reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland in January.
The Frenchman hit 29 aces, including one on match point.
Stan Wawrinka continued his farewell tour by beating Benjamin Hassan 7-5, 6-3 with Swiss Davis Cup and Olympic team-mate Roger Federer, who won the Dubai event eight times, in the stands.
It was Wawrinka's 10th tour-level win since turning 40, a record in the Open Era.
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