(Paris) When Félix Auger-Aliassime leaves Paris for Montreal in the next few days, his suitcase will weigh at least 455 grams more than when he arrived here.
That’s the weight of the bronze medal that he and Gabriela Dabrowski won in mixed doubles on Friday, beating a Dutch pair, Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof, 6-3, 7-6 (2). Who would have predicted this success last week? No one, since the Quebecer is not a doubles specialist. The two had only played one tournament together, at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Except that when he came to the Paris Games, Félix Auger-Aliassime had big ambitions. “It’s an important tournament in my career,” he confided after his first match. That’s why he had registered for all possible formats: singles, doubles, mixed doubles. A wise choice, as his successes today show.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski
“It’s incredible,” he said. “In a team victory, the emotions are doubled. It goes even further with the technical team and the medical staff who support us behind the scenes.”
This medal will have a special place in his collection. “I have very specific memories of the Olympic Games. I would watch the opening ceremonies of the Summer and Winter Games. I would see the athletes go by. I would try to recognize them. I followed all the sports. I have always been a big fan, I have always followed Canadian athletes. So, to add my name to the list of Canadian medallists is a great pleasure. It is a great accomplishment in a career. In a life. I am very proud of it.”
The road to get there was littered with potholes. After two convincing victories, the duo was defeated in the semifinals on Thursday night. On Friday, they easily took a 6-3, 3-0 lead. It seemed like it was in the bag. Except the Dutch, who were playing with the energy of desperation, came from behind, forcing a tiebreak. The Canadians rallied and dominated the overtime, 7-2. Dabrowski ended the match with a nice volley.
“A historic match point. I think it’s the most beautiful volley I’ve ever seen in my life!” Auger-Aliassime enthused.
Once the victory was achieved, he raised his arms to the sky and flashed his best smile. The loudspeakers were blaring Summer of ’69by Bryan Adams, then Life is a Highwayby Tom Cochrane. Two Canadian classics. Auger-Aliassime and Dabrowski went to join a delegation of Canadians, in the first rows of the Suzanne-Lenglen stadium. They were jubilant.
For Gabriela Dabrowski, a doubles specialist, this award crowns years of efforts in the shadow of the singles stars.
“I definitely had doubts about whether tennis was my long-term career or not. I worked a lot to try to master doubles. It’s not easy. It’s very different. But I really enjoy it, and I feel very privileged to have been able to play [dans une compétition] which has meant a lot to me since I was little, the Olympic Games.”
This medal is all the more satisfying because the day before, in the semi-final, the two Canadians were burned out. Auger-Aliassime, tired, had just played a singles match. Dabrowski, for her part, had health problems. When they went to bed, they didn’t know in what state they would wake up on Friday.
“We want to support our partner as best we can,” Auger-Aliassime explained. “We don’t want to let anyone down. We tried to do our best to recover and give it our all until the end. When it works out for us at the end, when we’re rewarded for our work, our resilience, our courage, it’s nice.”
Three hours earlier, on Friday, Félix Auger-Aliassime played another match, this time in singles, to earn a spot in the final. It went less well. He lost 6-1, 6-1 to Carlos Alcaraz. The score suggests a massacre, and frankly, it was. So much so that at the end of the duel, Alcaraz kept a little embarrassment in his celebrations, contenting himself with raising his hand.
PHOTO CLAUDIA GRECO, REUTERS
Carlos Alcaraz
However, the Quebecer did not play badly.
It was rather the Spaniard who excelled.
“I was downgraded,” Auger-Aliassime honestly admitted.
His opponent was crisscrossing the court with precision. His balls were hitting the lines almost every time. Everything was working for him. “He’s very, very strong. There’s no doubt about it, he’s the best player in the world right now. I’ll have to step up my game to compete with him or Novak Djokovic. On the axes of our respective games, he dominated me.”
It was particularly striking when Félix Auger-Aliassime started the rallies. “I didn’t serve badly,” he defended himself. But it was as if he was hitting the ball off a schoolyard wall, and the ball was coming back very quickly, with unexpected bounces and angles. Alcaraz won 55% of the points on his returns and limited Auger-Aliassime to just one ace.
“What’s not easy,” Auger-Aliassime explained, “is the pressure on the other side. Even when I served well, every time there was a high and long return, he put pressure on. You can’t make aces on command.”
“No matter what the pattern,” he added, “no matter what position, with a change of direction, a forehand, a crosscourt forehand, an inside forehand or an inside backhand, I was unable to find my comfort.”
The new medalist concluded with a realistic observation: “I have no solutions at present [pour le battre]. »
Let’s hope he has enough to beat Lorenzo Musetti on Saturday in the bronze medal match in singles. The Italian is going through a good streak. However, he has had the misfortune of facing Novak Djokovic three times in the last three months: at Roland Garros, at Wimbledon and in the semi-finals of these Games. A good challenge for Félix Auger-Aliassime, who nevertheless freed himself from a ton of pressure on Friday by winning a 455-gram medal.