Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Disappointment at Wimbledon: A Tough First Round Exit

These four match points obtained on Tuesday, before the sun setting over Wimbledon forced him to return to the locker room, Félix Auger-Aliassime will undoubtedly relive them more than once in his head, in the coming days.

Because the next day, although he was two sets ahead when he returned to the court against Thanasi Kokkinakis, it was ultimately the Quebecer who surrendered, at the end of a fight that finally ended in a final set 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 (9), 6-4 and 6-4, in 4 hours 38 minutes.

The Australian, ranked 93rd in the world, has a knack for annoying the top seeds in the major tournaments he plays. He has a habit of pushing them to play a fourth or fifth set. This year alone, he did the same to the American Taylor Fritz in Australia, then to the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in Paris, each time in a losing cause.

Photo AFP

But this time, “FAA”, 17th favourite on the London turf, found himself on the wrong side of the score.

Flamboyant and imperial

However, Félix seemed to have sniffed out the trap and done everything to avoid it, early in the match, against this 28-year-old opponent who has never fulfilled the great expectations placed on him.

And even when things really got tough for him, when he was trailing 5-0 in the third-set tiebreaker, the 23-year-old did everything he could to level the score and avoid playing another set.

But ultimately, the fine display of tenacity shown by Nick Kyrgios’ great friend did not diminish on Wednesday.

On the contrary: while he was all legs and all control the day before, Félix seemed this time to be short of opportune strategies against a Kokkinakis who was flamboyant on his forehand and imperial on his serve.

While he was quick to attack his backhand on Tuesday, Auger-Aliassime sometimes pushed too hard on his rival’s strong side on Wednesday, which allowed the Australian to multiply his attacks.

He probably won’t go on holiday to London.

A legendary tournament prized by players, even if many of them do not necessarily appreciate playing on grass, Wimbledon is probably no longer very high on the list of Quebecers’ favorite tournaments.

This is the third time in a row that he has been ousted in the first round, after reaching the third round in his first professional appearance in 2019 and the quarter-finals in 2021.

And Félix has not won on grass, in any event, since 2022.

But the good news for the pride of L’Ancienne-Lorette is that he will now be able to turn the page on this chapter of the season, during which he was forced to retire in Halle, hampered by injury.

As part of the Olympic Games, he will return to the Paris clay courts at the end of July, which were so good to him a few weeks ago at Roland-Garros, where he reached the round of 16 before losing to the eventual champion, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

Enough to give him some time to chase away the unhappy memories of London.

▶ Leylah Fernandez will play her second round match on Thursday, around 11:30 a.m. The 30e The top seed will face off for the first time in her career against Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, a former world number 1 now ranked 91.eThe Quebecer will attempt to reach the third round at the All England Club for the first time in her career.

2024-07-03 18:11:01
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