All good things have an end ; for Félix Auger-Aliassime’s winning streak, it was stopped at 16.
The Quebecer lost the flag in two sets of 6-4, 6-2, against the Dane Holger Rune, Saturday, during the Paris Masters.
At the end of a streak during which he won three titles – those of Florence, Antwerp and Basel – bringing his career total to four, Auger-Aliassime should reach sixth in the world on Monday, a personal high.
The eighth seed, who also coveted a first career Masters 1000 series title, bowed out after a quick duel of one hour and 27 minutes on the cement of the Accor Arena in Paris.
Rune is also in a good sequence. Auger-Aliassime became the fourth top-10 player to be undone by the 19-year-old Dane this week after world number one Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz.
For his part, Rune will also register a personal best, as the victory will push him into the top-10 for the first time in his career. He is currently ranked 18th in the world.
The only other confrontation between Auger-Aliassime and Rune came last week in the final of the Basel tournament, where the Montrealer prevailed.
In the final, Dune will cross swords with the winner of the duel between the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Serbian Novak Djokovic, disputed later on Saturday.
For Auger-Aliassime, it was the first semi-final of a Masters 1000 series tournament since the one against John Isner in Miami in 2019.
Rune set the tone for the game by breaking his opponent on his second serve. Auger-Aliassime was never able to make change for Rune and with two set points, the rising tennis star triumphed 6-4.
The second set did not smile on the Quebecer who gave his rival three break points in the first game. The Dane took the opportunity to take the lead and then broke the Canadian again on the next serve to give himself a priority of 3-0.
Trailing 4-0, Auger-Aliassime allowed himself a spectacular kick between the legs to get his first point against Rune in the second set. It was, however, the only moment of celebration for the 22-year-old athlete, who was defeated 6-2.
Despite his disappointment, Auger-Aliassime greeted the Parisian crowd as he left the court.
Auger-Aliassime will take over the collar for the ATP Finals. The prestigious tournament, which will bring together eight tennis players, will take place from November 13 to 20 in Turin, Italy.
Alcaraz, Djokovic, Rublev, Tsitsipas, Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev will also participate in the ATP Finals.