Can Felix Auger-Aliassime continue his 2019 progression at Flushing Meadows?

Felix Auger Aliassime aiming at great run at the US Open

By
Alex Boyden
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Felix Auger Aliassime

It’s been a breakthrough year for Montreal teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has slowly begun to make a name for himself on the ATP Tour over the course of the last six months. The talented 19-year old is currently the youngest player to be ranked within the top 100, and he has been widely tipped for future success. Although he still has plenty of time to achieve Grand Slam glory, he’ll be hoping to make a splash in New York this year, and improve upon a disappointing first-round exit at the US Open twelve months ago.

Auger-Aliassime achieved his best Grand Slam result with a third-round exit at Wimbledon in July. However, it was his performances at the Miami Masters earlier this year that suggested he can easily hold his own at the bigger tournaments, and he is likely to continue his development throughout the remainder of 2019.

The right-hander boasts a 35-18 record so far in 2019, with 12 of those successes arriving during the clay-court season. En-route to the semi-final in South Florida, he eliminated Borna Coric, Casper Ruud and Nikoloz Basilashvili, before being knocked out by big-serving John Isner, who needed two tie-breaks to squeeze past his precocious opponent. He admitted that nerves got the better of him in that semi-final contest, with a number of double faults slowly beginning to creep into his game towards the end of the tie. Despite failing to make the final, he still managed to become the youngest player to reach the final four at the Miami Masters since its inception in 1985.

Felix’ scalps

In 2019, he’s already beaten Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov, Gilles Simon and fellow countryman Vasek Pospisil. Although his record against top ten opposition currently stands at 2-4, he is rarely outclassed at this level, and it is surely only a matter of time until he secures his first title on the tour.

… and at the Rogers Cup

The Canadian faced world number eight Karen Khachanov at the Coupe Rogers in his home town of Montreal on August 8th, and despite receiving an overwhelming amount of support from the partisan crowd, Auger-Aliassime wasn’t able to get over the line, losing 6-7(7) 7-5 6-3. He described the atmosphere as “incredible” before later adding that it was “a dream come true” to play at this tournament. The 19-year old has been the face of the marketing campaign around the city, and fans have flocked to see him in action throughout the week.

He is unlikely to get that level of support during the final Grand Slam of the year, although he is quietly fancied to progress to the latter stages. It is a tournament that tends to throw up its fair share of surprises, and at 80/1 in the US Open betting odds, Auger-Aliassime is already beginning to attract interest from some tennis punters.

Having only turned 19-years old at the beginning of August, Auger Aliassime has a very bright future in the sport, and although he occasionally displays a few signs of inexperience, his all-round game is very impressive. With Milos Raonic still battling ongoing fitness issues, the likes of Dennis Shapovalov, Vasek Pospisil and Auger Aliassime are all flying the flag for Canadian tennis, although the latter is generally viewed as one of the country’s brightest prospects, and success on the ATP Tour is surely just around the corner.

FELIX IN ACTION
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