The Ascent To The Throne Begins For Felix Auger Aliassime

Joseph_K · Jun 13, 2019

In only his second grass court singles match at ATP level Felix took on the 34-year-old Frenchman Gilles Simon earlier today in second-round action in Stuttgart. A good start saw the young Canadian break early in the first set before saving two break points on his own serve to consolidate his lead. At 4-2, however, Felix had a severe drop in form as Simon won twelve points in a row with some unspectacular but typically solid play. At this point Felix steadied himself and, cutting down on his errors, took three games in a row and the first set, 7-5.

The second set resembled the first, with Felix breaking early to lead 4-2 before being broken himself as Simon pulled back to 4-4. However, in the next game the Canadian managed to break serve again before holding for set and match, 7-5, 6-4.

Felix looked very comfortable on the grass where his serve in particular is very effective. But he needs to maintain his level of intensity throughout the duration of a match and keep focussed, especially when a break ahead.

I Am Finnish · Jun 14, 2019

Is it save to say that Aliassime is an all court player or is it too early to tell

ACE of Hearts · Jun 14, 2019

Watching this guy and i am just not in love with his forehand. A quirky motion.

arvind13 · Jun 14, 2019

ACE of Hearts said:
Watching this guy and i am just not in love with his forehand. A quirky motion.

quirky is not necessarily bad. from what i've seen. its been an effective shot. helping him win matches. and we need more quirky shots on the tour. not the same cookie cutter strokes

Master_Funk · Jun 14, 2019

ACE of Hearts said:
Watching this guy and i am just not in love with his forehand. A quirky motion.

I like the way it looks and it’s a very versatile forehand . Compact but a lot of power and topspin. He can also take the ball very early because of the compact nature .

ACE of Hearts · Jun 14, 2019

Master_Funk said:
I like the way it looks and it’s a very versatile forehand . Compact but a lot of power and topspin. He can also take the ball very early because of the compact nature .

I don’t see the power at times. It looks like he’s pushing it at times.

ACE of Hearts · Jun 14, 2019

arvind13 said:
quirky is not necessarily bad. from what i've seen. its been an effective shot. helping him win matches. and we need more quirky shots on the tour. not the same cookie cutter strokes

Idk. It feels like he doesn’t get enough depth on the forehand.

Master_Funk · Jun 14, 2019

ACE of Hearts said:
I don’t see the power at times. It looks like he’s pushing it at times.

A good sample of his forehand at its best would probably the Tsitsipas match at Indian Wells where he was just outhitting him on both wings.

prairiegirl · Jun 14, 2019

Felix is a servebot on grass. Really boring. Haven't seen much else. If his serve ever breaks down then he'll lose and better players will know what to do with him.

prairiegirl · Jun 14, 2019

I Am Finnish said:
Is it save to say that Aliassime is an all court player or is it too early to tell

Way too early, and he played two guys at the end of their careers and now Brown who's essentially a Challenger-level player. So, once again, he's had a very easy draw.

arvind13 · Jun 14, 2019

i've se

prairiegirl said:
Felix is a servebot on grass. Really boring. Haven't seen much else. If his serve ever breaks down then he'll lose and better players will know what to do with him.

don't know what you've been watching. his groundstrokes were great vs simon. He broke simon using some great powerful groundstrokes. he returns pretty decent too.

prairiegirl · Jun 14, 2019

You can see how weak he is v. Brown. Brown is a real tactician. Felix is a bot who's more patient. A younger Raonic.

arvind13 · Jun 14, 2019

Felix is no servebot. he moves much much better than raonic. hits solid and big off both wings. is a pretty good returner too. serve is just a bonus to his game

prairiegirl · Jun 14, 2019

Totally disagree. In fact, the games when his serve broke down he didn't know what to do. He is patient out there and is a bit of a wall with his height and power. But, he didn't win today so much as Brown choked on match point. But, he gets the win anyway. Still not overly impressed with him.

BeatlesFan · Jun 14, 2019

arvind13 said:
Felix is no servebot.

Strongly dissent here. Felix is anything but a servebot, his serve isn't anywhere near the level of botting; i.e., Isner, Dr. Ivo or those types. But Felix taking three tight sets to dispose of a complete journeyman isn't good. He's the antithesis of a servebot.

arvind13 · Jun 14, 2019

BeatlesFan said:
Strongly dissent here. Felix is anything but a servebot, his serve isn't anywhere near the level of botting; i.e., Isner, Dr. Ivo or those types. But Felix taking three tight sets to dispose of a complete journeyman isn't good. He's the antithesis of a servebot.

ya but this is the same dustin brown who has beaten nadal twice, once at wimbledon. this ''journeyman'' is a serve and volley grass court specialist, not just any journeymen. felix is not used to playing serve and volley players like him on grass. hence the struggle. but he won anyways.

InvisibleSoul · Jun 14, 2019

arvind13 said:
ya but this is the same dustin brown who has beaten nadal twice, once at wimbledon. this ''journeyman'' is a serve and volley grass court specialist, not just any journeymen. felix is not used to playing serve and volley players like him on grass. hence the struggle. but he won anyways.

Yep, I completely agree with this.

For a more recent reference, this journeyman did just take out Alex Zverev the previous round. I'm actually very happy that FAA was able to handle Brown's style.

Down_the_line · Jun 14, 2019

prairiegirl said:
Felix is a servebot on grass. Really boring. Haven't seen much else. If his serve ever breaks down then he'll lose and better players will know what to do with him.

Wrong. Felix LOOKED like a serve bot on grass because Brown was so ineffective on the return it was tragic.

Down_the_line · Jun 14, 2019

We all have our opinions but @prairiegirl you are waaaaaay off here. Just look at his last match against Simon. The optics of the match are night and day based on the type of opponent. Brown will do that. He's notorious for depriving his opponents of their rhythm and that's what you saw when Felix's serve started to sputter a bit: a lack of rhythm. It's not like he's just useless if his serve breaks down. This is a gross misjudgement of Felix's athleticism and overall game.

Plus, you seem to have an inherent bias for Shapovalov and against Felix so that's probably clouding your judgement. You're on an island with this particular viewpoint.

InvisibleSoul · Jun 14, 2019

I think it's pretty safe to say that Felix's strength is his ground game, not his serving.

Being a servebot means your serve is by far the strongest part of your game. Clearly not the case for Felix. Just having a good serve in itself does not make one a servebot.

Down_the_line · Jun 14, 2019

InvisibleSoul said:
I think it's pretty safe to say that Felix's strength is his ground game, not his serving.

Being a servebot means your serve is by far the strongest part of your game. Clearly not the case for Felix. Just having a good serve in itself does not make one a servebot.

Exactly. I don't know what prairiegirl is on here. As I said, I think it's the bias that's clouding her judgement. How anyone can call Felix a servebot is beyond me.

oldmanfan · Jun 14, 2019

InvisibleSoul said:
I think it's pretty safe to say that Felix's strength is his ground game, not his serving.

Being a servebot means your serve is by far the strongest part of your game. Clearly not the case for Felix. Just having a good serve in itself does not make one a servebot.

Wait, based on that... are you telling me Fedr isn't a servebot all along? Maybe he is Santoro with a serve, like some suggest?

I have thought that FAA is a NextGen Cilic.

prairiegirl · Jun 14, 2019

Down_the_line said:
Wrong. Felix LOOKED like a serve bot on grass because Brown was so ineffective on the return it was tragic.

prairiegirl · Jun 14, 2019

We all have our opinions but @prairiegirl you are waaaaaay off here. Just look at his last match against Simon. The optics of the match are night and day based on the type of opponent. Brown will do that. He's notorious for depriving his opponents of their rhythm and that's what you saw when Felix's serve started to sputter a bit: a lack of rhythm. It's not like he's just useless if his serve breaks down. This is a gross misjudgement of Felix's athleticism and overall game.

Plus, you seem to have an inherent bias for Shapovalov and against Felix so that's probably clouding your judgement. You're on an island with this particular viewpoint.

If I have an inherent bias, then I fit right in, LOL. How many arguments have we been subjected to here over the Rafa v. Federer GOAT discussion? Back and forth hundreds of times with the same damn arguments on both sides. There are those with the inherent bias towards Rafa, and those with the inherent bias towards Federer. Then, there's Djokovic in the mix. Please, don't tell me I have an inherent bias without admitting your own, otherwise you're not being honest. Everyone has a bias here towards some players or others. It's nonsense but we do it. I never said Felix wasn't or isn't athletic. Of course he is, he's a professional athlete. One implies the other. But, I don't enjoy his game all that match. As a person, he seems very sweet and nice, although I don't know him, but that's how he comes across to me.

However, I just find Denis' game far more exciting to watch. Am I not entitled to that? Because everyone else here is. And when we go back to those same, stupid, endless, meaningless arguments of Rafa v. Federer yet again, will you call those people out for their inherent biases? Probably not.

I was probably wrong to call him a servebot, so I agree with BeatlesFan on that. It just seemed like that today. But, honestly, as nice as he is, Felix's game just doesn't do it for me. I like a more exciting, aggressive player which is why I always like Connors, McEnroe, Navratilova and Billie Jean King, among others.

Please, stop insulting my intelligence by suggesting my judgment has become clouded. All of our judgments are clouded when we become fans. There is a strong emotional component to being a fan and that's part of the fun. But, as for being on an island with my viewpoint, that's my business, and I honestly don't care.

estigma2001 · Jun 14, 2019

Vamos Felix now it´s time to beat Milos

The Green Mile · Jun 14, 2019

One of the few times I've rooted against FAA (consecutive matches even lol), but to make a SF in your first grass-court tournament whilst also coming back from injury problems is pretty incredible. Especially beating somebody like Dustin who gives you less rhythm than any other player on tour.

Joseph_K · Jun 14, 2019

Temperamentally, a very good match quarter-final from Felix earlier today against Dustin Brown in Stuttgart. Whereas certain other, not necessarily lower-ranked, players might have been demoralized then defeated by the predictable unpredictability of Brown's game, the young Canadian kept his head up and never gave up the fight.

As in his match against Gilles Simon on Thursday, Felix served very well. He also returned very well, especially in the tiebreaks that decided the first and third sets. The 18-year-old fully deserved his 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 7-6(2) victory.

The return of serve is sure to play an important role on Saturday when Felix takes on his countryman Milos Raonic for a place in the final. As a former Wimbledon finalist and with much more experience on grass than his opponent, Raonic will start the favourite in that encounter. But if Felix can play even better on the grass than he has until now, he will be in with a chance.

gogo · Jun 14, 2019

prairiegirl said:
We all have our opinions but @prairiegirl you are waaaaaay off here. Just look at his last match against Simon. The optics of the match are night and day based on the type of opponent. Brown will do that. He's notorious for depriving his opponents of their rhythm and that's what you saw when Felix's serve started to sputter a bit: a lack of rhythm. It's not like he's just useless if his serve breaks down. This is a gross misjudgement of Felix's athleticism and overall game.

Plus, you seem to have an inherent bias for Shapovalov and against Felix so that's probably clouding your judgement. You're on an island with this particular viewpoint.

If I have an inherent bias, then I fit right in, LOL. How many arguments have we been subjected to here over the Rafa v. Federer GOAT discussion? Back and forth hundreds of times with the same damn arguments on both sides. There are those with the inherent bias towards Rafa, and those with the inherent bias towards Federer. Then, there's Djokovic in the mix. Please, don't tell me I have an inherent bias without admitting your own, otherwise you're not being honest. Everyone has a bias here towards some players or others. It's nonsense but we do it. I never said Felix wasn't or isn't athletic. Of course he is, he's a professional athlete. One implies the other. But, I don't enjoy his game all that match. As a person, he seems very sweet and nice, although I don't know him, but that's how he comes across to me.

However, I just find Denis' game far more exciting to watch. Am I not entitled to that? Because everyone else here is. And when we go back to those same, stupid, endless, meaningless arguments of Rafa v. Federer yet again, will you call those people out for their inherent biases? Probably not.

I was probably wrong to call him a servebot, so I agree with BeatlesFan on that. It just seemed like that today. But, honestly, as nice as he is, Felix's game just doesn't do it for me. I like a more exciting, aggressive player which is why I always like Connors, McEnroe, Navratilova and Billie Jean King, among others.

Please, stop insulting my intelligence by suggesting my judgment has become clouded. All of our judgments are clouded when we become fans. There is a strong emotional component to being a fan and that's part of the fun. But, as for being on an island with my viewpoint, that's my business, and I honestly don't care.

You are absolutely right, prairiegirl, you have a right to your opinion. And I enjoy hearing it.
But it's also not wrong for someone to say they disagree with you.

Here's my opinion, which I'm sure many won't agree with, I love both Shapo and Felix, but I find Felix more thoughtful and talented. I wouldn't call him a servebot. I would say he is trying out his serve first, and then dealing with the play after. He has many skills, including net play. I believe we'll see more slices from him once he has more than 3 matches on grass under his belt.

I'm ok if others don't agree. I am FAR from a tennis expert. I love watching these young guys try to figure things out though!

gogo · Jun 14, 2019

The Green Mile said:
One of the few times I've rooted against FAA (consecutive matches even lol), but to make a SF in your first grass-court tournament whilst also coming back from injury problems is pretty incredible. Especially beating somebody like Dustin who gives you less rhythm than any other player on tour.

Agree. I was impressed. Does Felix have his whole act together yet?, no. But as you said, it was still impressive for an 18 year old.
People don't give Dreddy enough credit. I love the guy. I just wish he was seen more often on the main tour. Of course there are only so many grass tourneys.

prairiegirl · Jun 14, 2019

gogo said:
You are absolutely right, prairiegirl, you have a right to your opinion. And I enjoy hearing it.
But it's also not wrong for someone to say they disagree with you.

Here's my opinion, which I'm sure many won't agree with, I love both Shapo and Felix, but I find Felix more thoughtful and talented. I wouldn't call him a servebot. I would say he is trying out his serve first, and then dealing with the play after. He has many skills, including net play. I believe we'll see more slices from him once he has more than 3 matches on grass under his belt.

I'm ok if others don't agree. I am FAR from a tennis expert. I love watching these young guys try to figure things out though!

Is he more talented? Hard to say. I would say he's far more patient, consistent and has a really strong mentality for fighting out of difficult circumstances. Denis is far more flashy and aggressive but far less consistent. As to being thoughtful, that's a hard one to decide on as they could both be thoughtful in different ways. But, people are right in that Denis' results have not been great so far this year. Goodness knows the reason for that.

gogo · Jun 14, 2019

prairiegirl said:
Is he more talented? Hard to say. I would say he's far more patient, consistent and has a really strong mentality for fighting out of difficult circumstances. Denis is far more flashy and aggressive but far less consistent. As to being thoughtful, that's a hard one to decide on as they could both be thoughtful in different ways. But, people are right in that Denis' results have not been great so far this year. Goodness knows the reason for that.

I think that Denis will find a way to be better. But he needs a new coach. He is impulsive. And while he has shown a tiny bit more patience on some shots (and been rewarded for it), he often falls back to his natural ways.
This is not the Denis thread, so I will stop here.

Allez Felix!!

prairiegirl · Jun 14, 2019

I think that Denis will find a way to be better. But he needs a new coach. He is impulsive. And while he has shown a tiny bit more patience on some shots (and been rewarded for it), he often falls back to his natural ways.

BringBackSV · Jun 14, 2019

prairiegirl said:
Is he more talented? Hard to say. I would say he's far more patient, consistent and has a really strong mentality for fighting out of difficult circumstances. Denis is far more flashy and aggressive but far less consistent. As to being thoughtful, that's a hard one to decide on as they could both be thoughtful in different ways. But, people are right in that Denis' results have not been great so far this year. Goodness knows the reason for that.

I don't think it's particularly hard to say. Shapo needs to show to can be succesful playing within himself to even be in the discussion. Whocares how "flashy" he is anyway? Fognini is flashy too and his career is boring because he basically needs to redline to be relevant.

Joseph_K · Jun 15, 2019

Felix has been seeded no. 8 for next week's grass court tournament at the Queen's Club in London. In first-round action he will play Grigor Dimitrov, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist now ranked no. 46.

Joseph_K · Jun 15, 2019

So, it's a second ATP singles final in a row, and the third of the year, for Felix as Milos Raonic withdraws from the tournament in Stuttgart before today's scheduled semi-final. In Sunday's final Felix will play the Italian Matteo Berrettini who earlier today defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets in the other semi-final.

prairiegirl · Jun 15, 2019

Yes, but also the 2nd time he benefitted from a WO. If Raonic had been able to play he would have won, I think. We still don't even know what happened. But, in any case, Felix has a good chance here.

BeatlesFan · Jun 15, 2019

prairiegirl said:
But, in any case, Felix has a good chance here.

I was confident Felix could win the Lyon final, but he went down to Paire. I have only seen Berrettini play on clay, but Felix has a fantastic opportunity to grab his first title at only 18. I sure hope he does it, very excited for him.

stringertom · Jun 15, 2019

BeatlesFan said:
I was confident Felix could win the Lyon final, but he went down to Paire. I have only seen Berrettini play on clay, but Felix has a fantastic opportunity to grab his first title at only 18. I sure hope he does it, very excited for him.

Berrettini has put it together very solidly this week on grass without a large resume on the surface. His lone MD match win was Wimby’18 1R vs Saggy Sock and required a rally from two sets down. This week he has swept all four opponents and faced a total of 2 BPs, both defended in the first set today vs Struff. He has also converted 10 of 19 BP opportunities of his own. His lanky reach has also limited total ace count vs his return to 22 combined in four matches, well less than Félix chalked up in his last match alone vs Dreddy Brown.

To me, this is a pick-em match at best for Félix. Berrettini has been clutch in finals not preceded by a same-day SF.

Master_Funk · Jun 15, 2019

BeatlesFan said:
I was confident Felix could win the Lyon final, but he went down to Paire. I have only seen Berrettini play on clay, but Felix has a fantastic opportunity to grab his first title at only 18. I sure hope he does it, very excited for him.

Tbf, Felix was injured when playing paire so that factored in. I hope he has learnt substantial things from his previous two finals to get a different outcome in this one.

Pmasterfunk · Jun 15, 2019

I feel like this is a great opportunity for FAA to win his first title. I like Berrettini, but FAA does just about everything better. I was hoping to see him play Milos to see how he'd deal with the serve on grass.

@Master_Funk Better not ruin my rep with that username. (I'm sure I've made a comment of this genre before)

estigma2001 · Jun 15, 2019

Vamos Small Colin!!!!

InvisibleSoul · Jun 15, 2019

Bookies have Berrittini as the solid favorite tomorrow.

gogo · Jun 15, 2019

InvisibleSoul said:
Bookies have Berrittini as the solid favorite tomorrow.

I would call Berrittini to be favourite as well, but I am a bit surprised at the odds. I thought they'd be closer.
Go Felix!!

Down_the_line · Jun 15, 2019

Was disappointed Raonic had to withdraw. I wanted Felix to have to get through him to the final. Ah well, Felix will have several opportunities to prove his worth. For now, he's into yet another final.

Down_the_line · Jun 15, 2019

For the record, I predict Berrettini to win. I think the Italian is in the zone this week so it'll be more about him being too good than Felix not being good enough.

gogo · Jun 15, 2019

Down_the_line said:
For the record, I predict Berrettini to win. I think the Italian is in the zone this week so it'll be more about him being too good than Felix not being good enough.

I can see this. Of course, on any given day....
Allez Felix! (and, heck, Matteo is pretty cool too)

stringertom · Jun 15, 2019

InvisibleSoul said:
Bookies have Berrittini as the solid favorite tomorrow.

That’s a shift from 1R & 2R vs Kyrgios and Khachanov, where he was the underdog.

His highs are superlative, winning Gstaad last year without dropping a set and now in line to match that if he can sweep sets vs Félix. He dropped a set twice in his title run at Budapest earlier this year. He also dropped only a set on his way to the Munich final, where he was snakebit by the rain delay that forced him to play SF and final on the same day and lost in the final in three sets to Garin, who finished his SF on Saturday and was rested for the final.

Forehand_Slice · Jun 15, 2019

I can see why Berretinni is favourite, level aside, he does have the experience winning at this level.
Felix probably has a bit more pressure. Being the more rested player as well as the Possibility of being 0-3 in finals.
Though it is a winnable watch, I still see Matteo pick up his 3rd trophy.

Beacon Hill · Jun 15, 2019

prairiegirl said:
You can see how weak he is v. Brown. Brown is a real tactician. Felix is a bot who's more patient. A younger Raonic.

Completely agree - they are nearly clones. Except Raonic has way better movement than Felix.

merwy · Jun 15, 2019

People comparing Felix to Raonic have got to be blind as a bat. No similarities except for their nationality.
And about FAA's forehand: Yes it's compact and I didn't like it at first but it has grown on me. Kind of reminds me of Federer's forehand in how smooth it is. Obviously Fed hits it a lot bigger though.

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