Félix Auger-Aliassime is in a state of grace. The Quebecer easily disposed of Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one, in two sets of 6-3 and 6-2 to reach the final of the Basel tournament, his third in as many weeks.
Posted at 10:04 a.m.
The Quebecer thus increased his streak of consecutive victories to 12. Early in the match, Auger-Aliassime imposed his rhythm. If these two young players have among the best forehands on the circuit, Auger-Aliassime made the difference thanks to his devastating serve.
By contrast, the most recent winner of the US Open has looked helpless and stretched thin on more than one occasion. Double faults, badly controlled drop shots and a lack of explosiveness at certain crucial moments.
Nevertheless, with the quality of Auger-Aliassime’s game, he would have beaten anyone. His decisions were on point and rarely has he been so combative.
He pulled several rabbits out of his hat, like a huge parallel backhand in return for service to get the first break of the second set.
Alcaraz was confused and Auger-Aliassime was intractable. It was he who played as the best player in the world during this semi-final.
This is the third victory in as many games for the Quebecer against the Spaniard.
More details will follow.