PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Félix Auger-Aliassime suffered one of the worst defeats of his professional career on Friday in Montreal.
A pitcher who loses home plate. A sprinter who stumbles in the hurdles. A figure skater who repeatedly falls.
Posted at 8:30 p.m.
There is no pleasure in witnessing the collapse of an elite athlete. Our only desire is to change jobs. Or turn off the TV. However, in the stadium, there is no zapette or switch. And the unfortunate, he can not take refuge under the stands to cry in a small ball. Everyone is condemned to endure the discomfort, until the conclusion of the ordeal.
It happened twice, Friday afternoon, on the center court of the IGA stadium. First, during the third round of the duel between Hubert Hurkacz and Nick Kyrgios. It was nevertheless an excellent match, super tight. 7-6, 6-7. When Kyrgios lost a game on his own serve at the start of the final set, the engine took on water. The Australian was demoralized. Beaten down. Subsequently, it deployed as little power as the battery of a first generation iPhone. It was painful. If spectators tried to relaunch him, others booed his lack of commitment. It was time for the game to end.
At least, in the next match, Félix Auger-Aliassime played with more confidence. He looked for solutions to get out of the hole he had fallen into. Without success. Result: one of the worst defeats of his professional career, 1-6 and 2-6, against Casper Ruud, seeded fourth.
What wasn’t working?
All.
His first serve had neither the bite nor the precision of sunny days. The Quebecer committed four double faults and won only 56% of the points on his first serve. Translation for neophytes: it is well below its usual standards. On his second serve, it was even worse: 13% success. You won’t be surprised to learn that his opponent had five breaks.
During the exchanges, it was not much better. Here, a counter smash. There, a smash in the net. All around, forehands out of bounds. Félix Auger-Aliassime finished the game with 21 unforced errors – the equivalent of five games.
I could go on going on about his statistics for four or five paragraphs. It would be useless. You understood what happened. There’s no point in harassing an athlete on the floor. Especially not when the rout happens at home, in a tournament that won’t be back here for two years.
I can also confirm that Félix Auger-Aliassime was much more disappointed than his supporters after his defeat.
How does he explain his poor performance?
“I’ve been thinking about that since the game ended. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high afterwards [jeudi]. It’s true that in the previous game, against Cameron Norrie, Auger-Aliassime was dominant. Especially in service. “I was trying to repeat what I had done [la veille], rather than just living in the moment and just fighting with the tools and the opponent I had today. »
Was he too nervous? The fall of the other favorites, the table more open than usual, did that play into his head between Thursday and Friday?
“More or less,” he replied. I think my painting, so far, was difficult. I have [affronté] the best seeds in my part of the table. Casper was still the highest ranked player among those remaining in the tournament. I didn’t even dare to project myself [jusqu’à la finale]. I knew it was a complicated game. It was very complicated. »
Sport can be cruel. It was, Friday, in Montreal. At the time, it’s sad. Uncomfortable, even. But those failures, those sorrows, those disappointments are also what make subsequent victories greater.
Most beautiful.
And more satisfying.