MONTREAL — Felix Auger-Aliassime took his stance roughly six feet behind the baseline in the ad court, waited for a powerful, flat serve to his forehand side and stretched, but only managed to get the frame of his racquet on the ball.
His head sunk.
With that, the Quebecer’s Rogers Cup run was done. Perhaps prematurely, with respect to Thursday’s opponent, the eighth-ranked player on the ATP Tour, Karen Khachanov. Auger-Aliassime had a one-set lead, opened the second by breaking Khachanov’s serve, and had momentum from the 11,700 capacity crowd on centre court at IGA Stadium firmly in his corner. He was in full control of this match until, all of a sudden, he wasn’t.
“Right now, I’m mostly frustrated,” Auger-Aliassime said after his two hours 50 minutes match.
You can’t blame him for feeling that way.
For the first time this week, the freshly-turned 19-year-old suddenly appeared his age in the 7-6 (7), 5-7, 3-6 loss to Khachanov. He looked like the kid who was facing a top-10 player for just the third time in his young career, like a bewildered player who couldn’t quite find the edge when he needed it most against an opponent nearly five years his senior.
He didn’t look like the polished player who had arrived in Montreal after having surged from 109th to 21st in the ATP world rankings in just a matter of months nor like the one who had accumulated a 29-16 record since Jan. 1 and reached five semifinals and three finals in the 13 tournaments he’s participated in.
And you know what? That’s just fine. In fact, it’s perfectly normal. Take it from Canadian Daniel Nestor, a 30-year Rogers Cup veteran who was in attendance on Thursday to be celebrated for his Hall of Fame career.
“It’s like Denis (Shapovalov, the 20-year-old who lost to Dominic Thiem on Tuesday), it’s a great learning experience,” he said. “These guys are still very young, I mean, especially how mature and focused they are. It’s only a matter of time for both of them. So Felix, I think he has so much to look forward to.”
It’s undeniable.
Auger-Aliassime had shown it prior to his arrival in his hometown, and he flashed several signs of brilliance against Khachanov on Thursday while offering high-level play in wins over Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic earlier this week. In the first set of Thursday’s match alone, he rebounded from having his serve broken twice and rallied from down 6-5 in a tiebreaker for a 9-7 win. And the shots he hit to do it were simply breathtaking.
The kid showed he can play with poise and patience, that he has the shots to be aggressive when he needs to be, and that he can handle the emotional ebbs and flows of big matches on the biggest courts.
But, on this day, Auger-Aliassime’s biggest weakness — his second serve — was exploited. It had reared its ugly head last week in Washington, when he double-faulted 11 times in a third-round loss at the Citi Open to No. 16 Marin Cilic, and it cost him dearly against Khachanov. Auger-Aliassime had his serve broken seven times in the match. At 2-5 in the third set, he netted his second serve for his 12th double-fault of the afternoon.
Whether it was the wind, which kicked up to 25 km/h at points, or whether it was his timing, or nerves, the birthday boy just couldn’t find a way to correct the issue.
Frustrating? You bet.
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But you have to see the positive in how Auger-Aliassime didn’t allow for it to dispirit him. You also have to appreciate the wisdom in his outlook.
“For sure I’m facing difficulties on my second serve. I have to face it,” he said. “I mean, it’s like you. You face difficulties in your work. I face difficulties in mine. What do you do? You go back to work and you try to do better next time.”
With that, Auger-Aliassime is leaving Montreal with his head held high and more invaluable experience under his belt.
“At the end, the loss is disappointing, but I was confronted with difficulties and I was able to overcome them,” he said. “There were ups and downs. I think after those three matches, I can be positive. I need to keep building on what I need to improve. I will continue.”
It’ll be on to Cincinnati for another Masters Series event next week, and then to North Carolina for the Winston-Salem Open — the final tune up before the U.S. Open in New York. Auger-Aliassime has no choice but to look forward.
But when he thinks of his first Rogers Cup experience, of playing the courts he developed his game on, he won’t dwell on this loss. Instead, he’ll think of what he learned here and how he was so graciously received by the fans.
“I learned a lot this week,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I learned how to know myself better. I think it’s good for the rest of the season and for the following years. I had a good week here.
“What I received was incredible. I’m young but I never felt that before. I really want to thank everybody. It was very touching. It was incredible. I’ll remember that for all my life.”
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