Roland-Garros | Félix Auger-Aliassime bows to Carlos Alcaraz

Félix Auger-Aliassime probably leaves Paris earlier than he had hoped. His road to the Roland-Garros tournament was slowed down by Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday in the round of 16. The score of 6-3, 6-3 and 6-1 unfairly represents the quality of the match and the Quebecer’s performance.

“Progress does exist, but it is slow and invariably disappointing,” once wrote best-selling author George Orwell. And this observation, both frustrating and encouraging, is confirmed by watching Auger-Aliassime go.

Smoking since the start of the fortnight, the 23-year-old presented himself on the Philippe-Chatrier court with the certain ambition of overthrowing a worn and damaged Alcaraz from the start of the season. His right arm in a compression sleeve, the Spaniard still remained a worthy opponent.

And once in action, the third racket in the world reinforced its favorite status during the only major tournament played on clay, its favorite surface. He was biting, combative and uncompromising. He didn’t let anything stick out. 75% of points won on first serve, 16 break opportunities, 34 winners and 72% of points won at the net.

Ultimately, the result looked like what we would usually expect from a duel between a player aspiring to great honors and a player orbiting around twentieth position.

However, there is reason to be optimistic given the way Auger-Aliassime performed in the first half of the match.

It was difficult, until the end of the first round, to predict who was going to get away with the initial chapter of this possible trilogy.

The Quebecer, increasingly proud and demonstrative in 2024, has never hesitated to respond to his adversary who is used to leading all the dances.

Alcaraz concludes a long exchange with a backhand cut shot… Auger-Aliassime concludes the following exchange in the same way.

Alcaraz goes to the net after an outgoing serve… Auger-Aliassime continues the same pattern of play the next point.

Alcaraz takes a backhand cross until his rival makes a mistake… Auger-Aliassime gives him the same treatment the following sequence.

Early in the match, the Quebecer showed his fangs. He aimed for the lines and wrong-footed his opponent. More passive in nature at the start of a match, Auger-Aliassime has applied a different recipe since the start of the season and it serves him very well. His way of approaching the first rounds marks significant progress in the young man’s progress.

But by playing with fire, he ended up getting burned. His service, his favorite weapon, did not help him unduly as is customary. Already serving below his standards, he concluded the match with only 57% of first balls in play and 60% of points won in the first offering. He also played against the best returner in the world on clay. Alcaraz won more than half of the points when his opponent served on the second ball.

This 2h20 match was a demonstration of the notorious difference between a member of the top 3 and the rest of the pack. The gap narrows every year, but there remains a considerable gap between Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime, even if we sometimes aspire to say their names in the same conversation because of their ages. Alcaraz is better, more consistent and more versatile. The 21-year-old was simply too strong for Auger-Aliassime.

An injury at the wrong time

Even though he had just been broken in the fifth game to fall behind 3-2 in the second set, an injury suffered by Auger-Aliassime completely changed the shape of the match.

He was still in the game when he started showing signs of discomfort in his left leg. At the change of ends, the Quebecer called on the physiotherapist to try to resolve his condition. The pain seemed to be coming from the groin or upper thigh. He eventually retreated to the locker room for treatment and returned after nine minutes. But Auger-Aliassime was no longer a shadow of himself.

The best solution would undoubtedly have been to give up, shake his rival’s hand, pack up and save money. However, as Auger-Aliassime is built in a similar mold to Federer, who never left one of his 1526 matches before the end, he preferred to continue despite the pain, out of respect for his opponent and fans gathered around the central court.

The condition of his leg was obviously slowing him down. He no longer had any explosion on his serves, no more support for his drop shots and no stability for his forehands.

Auger-Aliassime has been in great demand since the start of the clay court season, playing tournaments in Monte-Carlo, Munich, Madrid and Rome. It remains to be seen how serious this injury is.

The following

Thanks to his performance this week in Paris, Auger-Aliassime will climb from 21^e at 18^e position in the world rankings. Its best positioning since October. With the small gap between the players in this portion of the ranking, a return to the top 15 is possible during the grass season.

For his part, Alcaraz is well on his way to dreaming of a third Grand Slam title. Jannik Sinner could finish the tournament at the top of the world rankings, and depending on the fate of Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz could also come and heat him.

The Spaniard will face ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round.