After the euphoria of the bronze medal at the Paris Games, a tough return to Earth awaited Félix Auger-Aliassime in Montreal.
Beaten soundly in doubles on Tuesday, he also lost in the first round in singles on Tuesday. A 6-3, 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Italian Flavio Cobolli, in an evening duel played on the center court. Sixty-seven minutes and it was over.
This means that the five Canadians registered in the main draw lost in the first round. Probably not the start to the tournament that the organizers had hoped for.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Flavio Cobolli greets the Montreal crowd
In this duel, Auger-Aliassime’s clumsiness on serve, combined with Cobolli in a state of grace at times, sealed the Quebecer’s fate. In the sixth game of the first set, Auger-Aliassime committed not one, not two, but three double faults to essentially offer his rival a free service break.
Arriving from France late on Sunday evening, Auger-Aliassime was obviously not playing in optimal conditions. That said, Cobolli reached the final of the Washington tournament last week. Fatigue could apply to both players.
Except that this final meant that Cobolli was playing his sixth match since his return to the hard surface. Auger-Aliassime was playing his first match on cement since March, in Miami.
At 22, Cobolli is quietly establishing himself as a player to watch on the tour. He currently sits at No. 33e world ranking, his personal best. In the second round, he has a date with the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, a player from the qualifiers.
Let’s also highlight the class he showed in the victory. He began his post-match interview on the field by congratulating Auger-Aliassime for his Olympic bronze medal.