The Ascent To The Throne Begins For Felix Auger Aliassime

Having defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets in the fourth round in Madrid, Felix Auger Aliassime was due to play the top seed, Jannik Sinner, in the quarter-finals yesterday, but the Italian was unable to take to the court because of a hip injury. The Canadian thus reached the semi-finals of a Masters Series 1000 tournament for the first time since Paris in 2022 and the third time in all.

On Friday FAA will face the Czech no. 1 Jiri Lehecka for a place in the final. The Canadian seems to have been around for a very long time, but he is only 23 years old compared to Lehecka's 22. In their only previous meeting, at the Australian Open last year, the Czech won a four-set battle. But that particular result probably won't mean much when the two players take to the clay court in Madrid tomorrow.
 
So, at his 42nd attempt, Felix Auger Aliassime has this week in Madrid reached the singles final at a Master Series 1000 tournament for the first time in his career. Luck has certainly been on the Canadian’s side, but most definitely not on the side of three of his opponents. Here is FAA’s route to the final:

1R: d. Yoshihito Nishoka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
2R: d. Adrian Mannarino (19) 6-0, 6-4
3R: d. Jakub Mensik 6-1, 1-0, retired
4R: d. Casper Ruud (5) 6-4, 7-5
QF: d. Jannik Sinner (1) default
SF: d. Jiri Lehecka (30) 3-3, retired

In Sunday’s final the unseeded Canadian will meet Andrey Rublev, the no. 7 seed. The Russian currently leads their head-to-head 4-1, so FAA will have to be at his very best if he is to take the title. Provided, that is, Rublev doesn’t injure himself before or during the match…
 
Joseph_K said:
So, at his 42nd attempt, Felix Auger Aliassime has this week in Madrid reached the singles final at a Master Series 1000 tournament for the first time in his career. Luck has certainly been on the Canadian’s side, but most definitely not on the side of three of his opponents. Here is FAA’s route to the final:

1R: d. Yoshihito Nishoka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
2R: d. Adrian Mannarino (19) 6-0, 6-4
3R: d. Jakub Mensik 6-1, 1-0, retired
4R: d. Casper Ruud (5) 6-4, 7-5
QF: d. Jannik Sinner (1) default
SF: d. Jiri Lehecka (30) 3-3, retired

In Sunday’s final the unseeded Canadian will meet Andrey Rublev, the no. 7 seed. The Russian currently leads their head-to-head 4-1, so FAA will have to be at his very best if he is to take the title. Provided, that is, Rublev doesn’t injure himself before or during the match…
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Well, that's one way to look at it. The other is to notice that he took out Mannarino and Ruud, and that he only got one walk-over. I guess we'll see what level he brings. There are some quality wins there.
 
So what's his W/L tally in finals now? Only atp tour, no challengers.

His level improved a lot lately. I'm hopeful for the future
 
Great to see FAA bringing in the dropshot. He has not used it enough across his whole career, but he wasn't bad at it early on. His dropper could use a little more disguise, but it dies quickly enough that it is quite effective.

Overall, a good week for him. Let's see whether he can bring a similar level to Rome. Back in the top 20.
 
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Beacon Hill said:
Feel badly for Felix - he had a very tough draw to get to the finals, and then had nothing left.
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I feel happy he made the final of a Masters 1000, especially on clay. He's only 23, he can still become a top 1- fixture and win important events. I think the week was very positive for him and he kept it very close against a superior clay player in Rublev.
 
BeatlesFan said:
I feel happy he made the final of a Masters 1000, especially on clay. He's only 23, he can still become a top 1- fixture and win important events. I think the week was very positive for him and he kept it very close against a superior clay player in Rublev.
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He didn't actually make the finals. He was given access to the finals.
 
On Saturday in Rome, Felix Auger Aliassime beat the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets to reach the third round of this year's Italian Championships. In what at one stage looked like it was going to be a three set match the Canadian won five games in a row from 1-all to win the first set.

However, in the second set he lost four games in a row to trail 1-5. In the next game he saved one set point on his own serve, and at 5-6 he saved a second set point, also on his own serve. That set ended on a tiebreak, which the Canadian won for a 6-1, 7-6(6) victory.

On Sunday FAA, the no. 20 seed, will take on Alex de Minaur, the number 9 seed, for a place in the fourth round. The Canadian currently leads their head-to-head 2-0 at ATP level.
 
Overall, FAA can be pretty happy with the three wins he managed to get in Paris. Obviously, getting blown off the court by Alcaraz was no fun, but not entirely unexpected. The real question is whether he can leverage some of this good form (relative to last year) into something at Wimbledon.

Mixing up his serve, taking control of the net, and otherwise playing aggressively should pay dividends on the grass. I liked that he used the dropshot a lot today, even if it wasn't as effective against the speedy Alcaraz. Hopefully, we will see more of that going forward.
 
Félix Auger Aliassime's recent return to the Top 20 of the ATP singles rankings means that he has been seeded no. 8 at this coming week's grass court tournament in Halle, Germany. In first-round action on Monday the Canadian will face home favourite Dominik Koepfer, who won their only previous meeting, though they have never played each other on grass.
 
A first win in eight attempts for Felix Auger Aliassime against Daniil Medvedev in third-round action at the Olympic Games in Paris earlier on Wednesday. The Canadian played superbly throughout the match and didn’t face a single break point in eleven service games. He broke Medvedev in the eighth game of the first set before serving it out to 30 in the next game.

In the second set FAA couldn’t quite break through the Russian’s serve although he had a break point in the first and third games. In the tiebreak that ended that set both players served one double fault, but from 3 points to 4 down the Canadian won four of the next five points to record a memorable 6-3, 7-6(5) victory. In the quarter-finals he will take on either Casper Ruud or Francisco Cerundolo.
 
Once again producing some of the best tennis of his career, earlier on Thursday Felix Auger Aliassime beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the men's singles event at the Olympic Games in Paris. In his next match the Canadian will take on the no. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz. Later on Thursday FAA and Gabriela Dabrowski face the Czech pair Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova for a place in the mixed doubles final. A win in that match would guarantee FAA at least one medal.
 
It was not to be for Felix Auger Aliassime earlier today in Paris, at least not in the men's singles event, where Carlos Alcaraz gave him a quick lesson that ended 6-1, 6-1 in the Spaniard's favour. However, in the mixed doubles event FAA and Gabriela Dabrowski won the bronze medal by beating the Dutch pair Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs 6-3, 7-6(2) in the playoff match. This is only the second time Canada has ever won a medal in tennis at the Olympic Games. Their first came in Sydney in 2000, when Sebastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor won gold. At the weekend FAA will take on either Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti in the bronze medal playoff match in the men's single event.
 
How is his ascent going to continue when it is clear he is no match for Alcaraz? He is the clear #1 and will be for the rest of FAA's career. In addition Alcaraz's complete dominance over FAA indicates Sinner would also have no trouble dispatching him (especially on hard courts). I think taking his run to the finals at Madrid and this possible bronze medal as positive signs is a little foolish. We know he ultimately lost to Rublev but would he have even been there if not for the retirements of Machac, Novak(?)and Sinner? Similarly his olympic run while solid included only Casper Ruud (cool) and Medvedev on clay..... It's clear he needs to improve but how and what? Given how badly his last two beat downs vs alcaraz (winning 9 games in 5 sets) were would it even matter?
 
Oof, a tough loss in the bronze match and now a tough opener at home against Cobolli, who won their only previous match.

Tough week for FAA.
 
It's good to see him put a positive spin on it at least:


And that's a great pic for Canada:
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A disappointing performance earlier on Tuesday from wildcards Felix Auger Aliassime and Alexis Galerneau at the Canadian Championships in Montreal. In the first round the home hopes faced the Australian no. 12 seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson but lost the first eight games of the match on the way to being beaten 6-0, 6-1. In the men’s singles event Montreal native FAA is the no. 14 seed and will take on the in-form Italian Flavio Cobolli in the first round.
 
None of the four Canadians in the main draw in Montreal this week have been able to make it past the first round of the singles event. The last hope, Felix Auger Aliassime, was comprehensively beaten by Flavio Cobolli late on Wednesday evening. Striking the ball with remarkable power and precision, the Italian was never troubled as he ran out a 6-3, 6-2 winner. Playing in front of his home crowd, FAA made far too many unforced errors for it to be a competitive match and looked inhibited and flat when he should have been full of fire in front of thousands of fans willing him to win.
 
A shame that FAA crumbled into nothing after being coined to achieve everything, Already been surpassed by Alcaraz, Sinner and Rune.
 
Sadly FAA only excels in a country vs country tourneys where there is a team support. Otherwise, individually, he’s a very average player, can’t even beat a no-namer. He has all the skills but mentally not tough enough for the tour to be amongst the elite.
 
A decent run to the 3rd round for FAA. Put up a good fight against Draper, even though it was his second match of the day.

The ending of the match saw some controversy, but Felix handled it as calmly as he could.
 
That’s the problem with tagging young players with future goat monikers. Many pages ago I called he would likely be the next Richard Gasquet and it seems I was right. Both were put on a pedestal too early in their careers. Tons of pressure too early. Both top 20-40. Bith can beat anyone on a great day. But are not able to bring in elite performances consistently enough.

But hey being top 20-40 for many years is not bad either. In most professional sports being top20-40 would guarantee them tons of money and fame in their respective clubs. Just that tennis has a never ending obsession for the #1 and greatest of all times.

Plus with how FAA handled the blunder from last night with Draper, he may not be on the throne in terms of rankings, but certainly on the throne in terms of self composure. What a class act in such an horrible situation. Very very few players in his situation would have handled that situation with such class. Well done on that Felix!
 
Results in the Slams for 2024:

AO - 3R (Medvedev, straight set loss)
RG - 4R (Alcaraz, straight set loss)
W - 1R (Kokkinakis, 5 sets)
USO - 1R (Mensik, straight set loss)

At this point, it looks like FAA will just have to take what he can get during the indoor season.
 
Bhagi Katbamna said:
Amazing how someone like FAA has so much game but it disappears at the most inopportune times.
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He doesn't have "so much game" though. His strokes and serve are pretty solid, but in terms of variety and tactics he's mediocre. He's incapable of thinking outside the box, or doesn't have the chops to physically do so.
 
Musterrific said:
He doesn't have "so much game" though. His strokes and serve are pretty solid, but in terms of variety and tactics he's mediocre. He's incapable of thinking outside the box, or doesn't have the chops to physically do so.
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He definitely has game. He's the only player besides Djokovic and Isner(lol) to take Rafa to 5 sets in a year that Rafa won RG.
 
Bhagi Katbamna said:
He definitely has game. He's the only player besides Djokovic and Isner(lol) to take Rafa to 5 sets in a year that Rafa won RG.
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Yes, but to be fair, that was when Rafa had a hangover from being in the stadium and then celebrating Real Madrid's Champions League title until way after midnight.
 
On Tuesday afternoon, at the Manchester Arena in that English city, Felix Auger Aliassime beat Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-3 to give Canada an unassailable 2-0 lead against Argentina in the first series of matches in Group D of the Davis Cup Finals. Earlier in the day Denis Shapovalov had beaten Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-3 to get Canada off to a winning start.

The fast indoor surface at the Manchester Arena suited FAA's game and at one stage he led 6-3, 4-0 with his serve to follow before his level dropped slightly. He was broken in the fifth game of the second set and again at 5-1 before eventually serving out for victory in the ninth game.

The other members of the Canadian team are Gabriel Diallo, Alexis Galerneau and Vasek Pospisil. Shapovalov and Pospisil are due to take on the top doubles team of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in today's third and final match. Finland and the host nation Great Britain are the other two teams in Group D.
 
The quality of the entries is so high at this week's Japan Open in Tokyo that world no. 21 Felix Auger Aliassime is unseeded in the singles event. In the first round he will face a familiar opponent in the home favourite Yoshihito Nishioka. These two players have already met each other six times, with Nishioka winning the first two encounters and the Canadian taking the next four.
 
So, your forehand is flying, FAA. What are you going to do to fix it?

It's the same thing, match after match now. Take some speed off, change your racquet specs. Do something...anything.
 
Paul Annacone points out the lack of kick serve in FAA's arsenal. In general, he tends to rely on the slice out wide too much. This is the sort of thing you hope he is working on during the off season that could pay huge dividends going forward.

We've seen how Sinner has been able to add to his game, but a lot of players, including Felix, have stagnated.

Edit: two positives, he was using his slice backhand pretty effectively in the third, and he was reading the serve much better.
 
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Pretty terrible tiebreak record for the year, it looks like. That used to be one of his better stats. Confidence is key.
 
110 pages, 5 titles later...

2024 wrap-up - worse than '23?

Ends with a back injury and 0 titles. One highlight is the bronze in mixed doubles at the Olympics.

A back injury is trouble, especially for a player that relies on his serve. Hopefully, he can recover with rest during the offseason.

He posted some of his better return numbers this year. If he can work on his backhand return, maybe he can stop the rankings slide.
 
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It looks like Felix Auger Aliassime won't be fit enough to take part in this year's Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain, the week after next. Canada are due to take on Germany in the quarter-finals on 20 November, but Auger Aliassime, the Canadian no. 1, is currently suffering from a back injury. It appears that Alexander Zverev, the German no. 1 and world no. 2, won't be taking part in the competition, so Canada will definitely be in with a chance of reaching at least the semi-finals. Denis Shapovalov is in good from at the moment, while Gabriel Diallo entered the Top 100 of the ATP rankings for the first time a few months ago. Alexis Galarneau, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil will be Canada's other three representatives.
 
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Wrote that two years ago….

Rovesciarete said:
Compared to other youngsters his backhand is clearly weaker as is his return game. Some time ago I said he looks to me a bit like the (for me) stereotypical Northamerican: big serve, big forehand but weakish return and backhand. I'm all for modern serve+1, IO FHs and so forth but it doesn't suffice to consistently compete against the very best.

His backhand side is really vulnerable and as he takes so many IO FH he leaves himself more open down the line. Improving the return game is historically hard and becomes more so after a certain age. I hope for him that he can do it.
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Sadly, so far, his problems have remained the same, and little progress has been made. Shows the pitfalls of the common North-American approach to tennis very well.

After two decades of European dominance, one thinks they might have picked up a thing or two.

To be fair, with Michelsen and Tien there are now two quite different US players on the tour, to go with Paul and Tiafoe.
 
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Felix is the ultimate example of being able to hit the felt off the ball but be utterly unable to win winnable matches

He let Coric back in the match for some damn reason
 
Golly, what is up with Canadian Tennis?

FAA is the best of the bunch but that isn't saying much. They had a decent crop of players even at one point one could say better than the US men and then it imploded and there doesn't seem that there are replacements on the way.
 
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