World No.12 and Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime (FAA) disappointed many of his fans as he was knocked out in the Round of 128 at the Wimbledon Championships recently. FAA has now claimed that his long-standing, recurring joint injury was the reason why his body could not hold up in between of the match, although prior to that he believed the opposite. However, that did not stop him back home from enjoying the final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
FAA reacted to the win by saying that Carlos Alcaraz being the bonafide World No.1 now has ‘awakened his competitive side’ and that youngsters like him will be aiming to win more titles as the pressure will be on the Spaniard to maintain the high standards he has set for himself.
Carlos Alcaraz has awoken Félix Auger-Aliassime’s competitive side
There has been no shortage of talents on the ATP Tour in the last 20 years. However, no youngster really impressed or even was close to challenging the might of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the ‘Big Three’ of tennis. To some extent, Andy Murray did with his 3 Grand Slam wins. But it is widely believed that the tide might turn with Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Djokovic and presuming that Nadal being back to his best in 2024 might be harder after an injury at the age of 37.
When it comes to Félix Auger-Aliassime, the Canadian is known as one of the ‘Giant Killers’ of the game, as on his day he can stun the very best in the business. Famously, in the 2022 French Open, FAA was the closest to beat Rafael Nadal, pushing him to play a grueling 5-set match in the Round of 16. At the time, FAA was coached by Nadal’s uncle Toni, which may have helped in the World No.12 displaying a fabulous clay court game. Yet, a Grand Slam title has remained elusive till date for FAA and having made it to many finals, he has only managed to win 4 ATP titles so far.
However, speaking for other players on the ATP Tour as well apart from himself, FAA feels the general consensus now is that Carlos Alcaraz is their main target in every tournament they play in as beating him can help secure a title most of the times. The highest-ranking Canadian of all time feels that Alcaraz’s Wimbledon success has inspired him to raise his game. In the interview with Le Journal de Montreal, he also served a reminder about his excellent record against Alcaraz, as he has won 3 out of their 4 encounters. FAA was quoted as saying –
“It (Carlos Alcaraz’s win) awakens my competitive side. I also allow myself to speak for the other players [on the circuit]. We don’t want to let him win every tournament. It motivates me to do the right things.
“When everything is OK physically, I am convinced that I can attack the next tournaments with the same ambitions that I have always had. My standards are not lower.”
Could Alcaraz vs Augur-Aliassime be a staple rivalry?
Interestingly, FAA is amongst the select group of players to have beaten Carlos Alcaraz at least once each at a ATP Tour 500 tournament, Davis Cup and Grand Slams. The duo have played on hard courts against each other on all 4 occasions. However, Alcaraz bagged his first win over the Canadian star in their most recent meeting earlier this year at the Indian Wells Masters.
With Alcaraz’s game moving to the next level and FAA claiming to return to full fitness, the duo clashing in the North American swing which includes the US Open 2023, is a huge possibility. Yet, going by fitness, form, logic and versatility, it would be safe to say that between the two, Carlos Alcaraz stands a better chance to win more Grand Slams than FAA.
