The Ascent To The Throne Begins For Felix Auger Aliassime

Hitman said:
I would like to see him win a masters title this year. It is long overdue.
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Any title will be good for him.

But honestly, the best thing would be another deep run at the AO. That semi against Med was probably the best NextGen match until Sinner-Alcaraz.
 
Earlier on Friday in Adelaide Felix Auger Aliassime reached his sixteenth singles final at ATP level with a hard fought win 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 over the top seed Tommy Paul. In tomorrow's final the Canadian will take on Sebastian Korda. The Canadian currenlty leads their head-to-head 2-1, but they haven't palyed since 2022. FAA has been seeded no. 29 in the men's singles event at the Australian Open and will take on Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round; their head-to-head is currently 2-2. The Canadian reached the third round in Melbourne last year.
 
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Joseph_K said:
Earlier on Friday in Adelaide Felix Auger Aliassime reached his sixteenth singles final at ATP level with a hard fought win 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 over the top seed Tommy Paul. In tomorrow's final the Canadian will take on either Sebastian Korda or Miomir Kecmanovic. FAA has been seeded no. 29 in the men's singles event at the Australian Open and will take on Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round; their head-to-head is currently 2-2. The Canadian reached the third round in Melbourne last year.
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16 ATP finals are really a lot for a 2000 class.

At the beginning of this season he beat Fritz and Paul, maybe it's just a flash in the pan, we'll understand later, but those 2 scalps are not trivial on hard.
 
A good start to the year for Felix Auger Aliassime who, earlier on Saturday in Adelaide, beat Sebastian Korda 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to win his sixth singles title at ATP level. The Canadian saved several break points early on in the first set before breaking Korda's serve at 3-2 and later serving out to love in the ninth game for the set. In the deciding set Korda held serve in the fourth game after saving one break point but in the other six games he won only four points. In four service games in the last set FAA won sixteen out of seventeen points.
 
Congratulations to FAA, good run and finally the first outdoor title!

Korda has those beautiful classic strokes but where is the power? He should have similar biomechanics to Sinner but the weight of shot is so markedly inferior. FAA got a lot of space and time to work his forehand and suffered little on his backhand wing.
 
Rovesciarete said:
Congratulations to FAA, good run and finally the first outdoor title!

Korda has those beautiful classic strokes but where is the power? He should have similar biomechanics to Sinner but the weight of shot is so markedly inferior. FAA got a lot of space and time to work his forehand and suffered little on his backhand wing.
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FAA was hitting that backhand better, slicing more, getting it into play on the returns. Coupled with Korda taking some speed off the serve, FAA was able to shrink the size of the court.
 
Aabye5 said:
Any title will be good for him.

But honestly, the best thing would be another deep run at the AO. That semi against Med was probably the best NextGen match until Sinner-Alcaraz.
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Any title will do, and Felix gets it done in Adelaide for his first title since 2023 Basel. His opponent, Sebi Korda, was clearly ailing in the last set and a half. The serve and movement of the Canadian gave him a distinct edge. That backhand slice has helped him tremendously on return. Good speech, with shoutouts to both his fiancee and his dad. He was smiling a lot in that third set and the win clearly meant a lot to him.

Allez Auger-Aliassime!
 
Aabye5 said:
FAA was hitting that backhand better, slicing more, getting it into play on the returns. Coupled with Korda taking some speed off the serve, FAA was able to shrink the size of the court.
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Tennis Insights confirms my impression that he was able to run even more than usual around the backhand. Korda can not pressure easily and FAA seems to be in good physical shape!
 
Rovesciarete said:
Tennis Insights confirms my impression that he was able to run even more than usual around the backhand. Korda can not pressure easily and FAA seems to be in good physical shape!
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Congrats! Have you ever considered working for the ATP?

I wish they posted returns in play, but it shows him winning 65% of second serve returns, suggesting my point about better returning also played a role ;)
 
Aabye5 said:
Congrats! Have you ever considered working for the ATP?

I wish they posted returns in play, but it shows him winning 65% of second serve returns, suggesting my point about better returning also played a role ;)
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Thanks, but I add far more value in another field. Players, 10+ matches charted, with the worst backhand potencies over the last 52w:

Updated weekly(ish). Last update: 2025-01-06
Player​
Matches​
RallyLen​
RLen-Serve​
RLen-Return​
1-3 W%​
4-6 W%​
7-9 W%​
10+ W%​
FH/GS​
BH Slice%​
FHP/Match​
FHP/100​
BHP/Match​
BHP/100​
12​
3.5​
3.5​
3.4​
48.1%​
46.7%​
47.2%​
52.7%​
52.2%​
14.3%​
3.8​
4.2​
-4.8​
-6.3​
17​
3.7​
3.7​
3.6​
48.6%​
46.9%​
42.1%​
46.8%​
54.9%​
14.5%​
5.1​
4.6​
-4.6​
-5.6​
25​
3.4​
3.2​
3.5​
49.3%​
47.4%​
44.7%​
48.0%​
50.5%​
28.4%​
5.1​
5.8​
-3.1​
-4.7​
18​
2.9​
2.5​
3.4​
51.3%​
46.2%​
40.3%​
47.6%​
55.0%​
33.7%​
-1.1​
-1.4​
-2.1​
-4.5​

Monfils, Korda and FAA are a bit of a mystery team. Looking the part of the modern tennis athlete but lacking something to be dominant in it.
 
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Nostradamus said:
is uncle toni the best coach in history of the game ?? RAFA then now Felix ??
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2021 US Open is the only Grand Slam Semi-Final Felix ever made :cry:
And I think Nadal would have won 24 or 25 slams if Moya took over in 2015 instead of 2017...
 
Rovesciarete said:
Thanks, but I add far more value in another field. Players, 10+ matches charted, with the worst backhand potencies over the last 52w:

Updated weekly(ish). Last update: 2025-01-06
Player​
Matches​
RallyLen​
RLen-Serve​
RLen-Return​
1-3 W%​
4-6 W%​
7-9 W%​
10+ W%​
FH/GS​
BH Slice%​
FHP/Match​
FHP/100​
BHP/Match​
BHP/100​
12​
3.5​
3.5​
3.4​
48.1%​
46.7%​
47.2%​
52.7%​
52.2%​
14.3%​
3.8​
4.2​
-4.8​
-6.3​
17​
3.7​
3.7​
3.6​
48.6%​
46.9%​
42.1%​
46.8%​
54.9%​
14.5%​
5.1​
4.6​
-4.6​
-5.6​
25​
3.4​
3.2​
3.5​
49.3%​
47.4%​
44.7%​
48.0%​
50.5%​
28.4%​
5.1​
5.8​
-3.1​
-4.7​
18​
2.9​
2.5​
3.4​
51.3%​
46.2%​
40.3%​
47.6%​
55.0%​
33.7%​
-1.1​
-1.4​
-2.1​
-4.5​

Monfils, Korda and FAA are a bit of a mystery team. Looking the part of the modern tennis athlete but lacking something to be dominant in it.
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Yes, but that's his career. I'm talking about in 2025. Actually, FAA started using the backhand slice more sometime last year I think. Look at his second serve return numbers compared to last year.
 
Aabye5 said:
Yes, but that's his career. I'm talking about in 2025. Actually, FAA started using the backhand slice more sometime last year I think. Look at his second serve return numbers compared to last year.
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It might look so at a quick glance but it was the last 52 weeks. I agree that a tall player with a weak backhand should invest more into the bh slice, especially cross-court.

Federer could break the sidelines due to a fantastic hand and by taking it so early.
 
Rovesciarete said:
It might look so at a quick glance but it was the last 52 weeks. I agree that a tall player with a weak backhand should invest more into the bh slice, especially cross-court.

Federer could break the sidelines due to a fantastic hand and by taking it so early.
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Could be that I'm wrong, but if he made a change last year it might not show in the data quite yet?
 
Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina is up next. FAA has never lost to him, but ADF should be pretty fresh after his first round opponent retires.

Will we see a repeat of their four-set tiebreak fest from the 2022 AO?
 
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Aabye5 said:
Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina is up next. FAA has never lost to him, but ADF should be pretty fresh after his first round opponent retires.

Will we see a repeat of their five-set tiebreak fest from the 2022 AO?
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His draw is interesting, isn't it? Davidovich, Ruud, Paul. He has a winning H2H against all of them and let's be honest, they're all in piteous form. A quarter is more than feasible, if he keeps this good form.
 
On Wednesday in Melbourne Felix Auger Aliassime takes on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the Last 32. Given his recent good form, the Canadian will feel confident going into this match. What's more, he leads the Spaniard 3-0 in their head-to-head at ATP level. When the same two players met each other in the same round of the same tournament in 2022, FAA won a four-set match in which all of the sets ended in a tiebreak.
 
It was the sort of match he could have won, and he should probably have won it after leading by two sets to love, but on Wednesday night in Melbourne Felix Auger-Aliassime was beaten by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who came back from a long way to triumph 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 after close on five hours of play. In the final set the Canadian had one break point at 1-all and three at 2-all, but the Spaniard held both times and himself broke through, to love, at 4-3, before serving out to 15 for the match. Consistency is very important in tennis and if the Canadian can't play his best tennis week in, week out, month in, month out, he is going to continue to experience a lot of frustration in his career.
 
Joseph_K said:
It was the sort of match he could have won, and he should probably have won it after leading by two sets to love, but on Wednesday night in Melbourne Felix Auger-Aliassime was beaten by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who came back from a long way to triumph 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 after close on five hours of play. In the final set the Canadian had one break point at 1-all and three at 2-all, but the Spaniard held both times and himself broke through, to love, at 4-3, before serving out to 15 for the match. Consistency is very important in tennis and if the Canadian can't play his best tennis week in, week out, month in, month out, he is going to continue to experience a lot of frustration in his career.
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Love these summaries.

He went back to some of his bad habits when the going got tough. Although those slice backhands are a nice change up. If he can continue with the smart play that we saw in Adelaide, the consistency will follow.
 
Félix is into his second final of the year, 17th overall. He'll face American qualifer Aleksandar Kovacevic tomorrow.

If he decides to remain in the draw in Rotterdam next week, he will play another qualifier and then could set up a showdown with Carlos Alcaraz. The year has started in earnest.
 
Aabye5 said:
Is Sinner this generation's Sharapova? Probably not.
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But why do you always take everything as a personal affront?

You have to explain to me what Sinner has to do with it.
If you don't agree with my comparison, contest it without making these useless provocations every time.
 
Winner Sinner said:
But why do you always take everything as a personal affront?

You have to explain to me what Sinner has to do with it.
If you don't agree with my comparison, contest it without making these useless provocations every time.
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This just doesn't seem like a very fitting comparison at all. If you take a broad view of their earliest careers, the only thing they have in common is that they were precocious. But that's true of numerous players. Why Gasquet?

Gasquet was unable to challenge the big 3 because of his limited forehand. He then went through a rough period after his positive cocaine test and ban that saw him miss both Wimbledon and RG. Then injuries. His career took a while to recover. I could be wrong, but I also recall him having somewhat of a love-hate relationship with tennis, along the lines of Agassi.

Felix, on the other hand, has struggled primarily with his consistency, although his backhand is a liability. He has put in the hard yards to try to fix it/compensate for it, from changing coaches, to adding more slice, and running around it. He has also challenged the big 3 and the new up-and-comers, but was unable to compete early on with Med/Zed/Stef/Rublev, all slightly older players. Faced some injuries in 2023 and end of last year.
 
Aabye5 said:
This just doesn't seem like a very fitting comparison at all. If you take a broad view of their earliest careers, the only thing they have in common is that they were precocious. But that's true of numerous players. Why Gasquet?

Gasquet was unable to challenge the big 3 because of his limited forehand. He then went through a rough period after his positive cocaine test and ban that saw him miss both Wimbledon and RG. Then injuries. His career took a while to recover. I could be wrong, but I also recall him having somewhat of a love-hate relationship with tennis, along the lines of Agassi.

Felix, on the other hand, has struggled primarily with his consistency, although his backhand is a liability. He has put in the hard yards to try to fix it/compensate for it, from changing coaches, to adding more slice, and running around it. He has also challenged the big 3 and the new up-and-comers, but was unable to compete early on with Med/Zed/Stef/Rublev, all slightly older players. Faced some injuries in 2023 and end of last year.
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The comparison derives solely from the fact that so far the progress of FAA's career seems to follow that of Gasquet in terms of loot which so far includes only minor tournaments.
 
Winner Sinner said:
The comparison derives solely from the fact that so far the progress of FAA's career seems to follow that of Gasquet in terms of loot which so far includes only minor tournaments.
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That's true of many players, still don't see why you chose Gasquet?

The reason why they didn't/haven't won any big titles is different.
 
Aabye5 said:
That's true of many players, still don't see why you chose Gasquet?

The reason why they didn't/haven't won any big titles is different.
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Because both were considered predestined as boys, and both seem unable to go beyond this type of minor tournaments in terms of victories.

I chose Gasquet precisely because it is the first name that came to mind that could be compared to FAA from this point of view.
Don't always be fussy by trying to fit cases even when they aren't there.
 
Winner Sinner said:
Because both were considered predestined as boys, and both seem unable to go beyond this type of minor tournaments in terms of victories.

I chose Gasquet precisely because it is the first name that came to mind that could be compared to FAA from this point of view.
Don't always be fussy by trying to fit cases even when they aren't there.
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Again, that's a shallow comparison. Monfils might be a slightly better comparison. He was also a phenom expected to go far, and unlike Gasquet he didn't have the same technical limitations on his game. It's funny how both he and FAA both said discipline was the key to their good form this season. FAA always seemed very dedicated. But I might pick someone more like Tommy Haas. Picking Gasquet seems a bit dismissive of both players.

Why hasn't Felix won a big title yet? Good question.

1. A lack of consistency. In matches, across tournaments, in majors.
2. He gets tight. His record in finals is one glaring example of this.
3. Has had some pretty serious injuries/health issues
4. Coaching changes. Toni Nadal took him in a different direction.
5. Indoor hard is his best surface, not as many big titles on it. (This is last because he has done quite enough on all surfaces at various points)
 
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Felix retires against Andrea Vavassori in the 1st round of Rotterdam, after splitting the first two sets. More injury woes for the Canadian. :(
 
Winner Sinner said:
Because both were considered predestined as boys, and both seem unable to go beyond this type of minor tournaments in terms of victories.

I chose Gasquet precisely because it is the first name that came to mind that could be compared to FAA from this point of view.
Don't always be fussy by trying to fit cases even when they aren't there.
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If you look back ten pages or more I said the same thing. FAA is the new Gasquet. Not because of their styles or struggles. But for how precocious they were, how big were the expectations on them and how little they’ve both been able to turn this hype into real successes.

They both can upset a top10 player on a good day. They just can’t do it on a regular enough basis and with enough consistency to stay top 10 and have a real shot at a slam.

But having a long career and staying competitive is certainly not a small feat. Tennis world seems to have eyes only for the very best players. But Gasquet and Felix staying inside the top 30 year in year out is quite an accomplishment in itself (I know Richard is now out of the top30 but he was there for most of his 20+ year career).
 
After struggling to beat Quentin Halys, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), in first-round action in Doha on Tuesday, Felix Auger Aliassime had a rest on Wednesday because his second-round opponent Hamad Medjedovic was forced to withdraw before their match due to an injury. On Thursday the Canadian will face Daniil Medvedev for a place in the semi-finals. The Russian currently leads their head-to-head 7-1, but FAA won their last encounter, at the Olympic Games in Paris last year.
 
Joseph_K said:
After struggling to beat Quentin Halys, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), in first-round action in Doha on Tuesday, Felix Auger Aliassime had a rest on Wednesday because his second-round opponent Hamad Medjedovic was forced to withdraw before their match due to an injury. On Thursday the Canadian will face Daniil Medvedev for a place in the semi-finals. The Russian currently leads their head-to-head 7-1, but FAA won their last encounter, at the Olympic Games in Paris last year.
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Medvedev is struggling mightily lately so Felix actually has a great shot at the semis here. Hope he takes it.
 
FAA's backhand is looking fairly solid. It's been a long time since I could say that. Good tennis by the way:

 
Wonderful start to the year for FAA. It's always tough to lose a final, but he can on build on this. He's right there with the top 10. If he can stay healthy, I hope to see him have a good run in IW/Miami.

Allez!
 
Aabye5 said:
Wonderful start to the year for FAA. It's always tough to lose a final, but he can on build on this. He's right there with the top 10. If he can stay healthy, I hope to see him have a good run in IW/Miami.

Allez!
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What's his finals record now? :rolleyes:
 
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