NEW YORK — Montreal’s own Felix Auger-Aliassime has reassured his supporters that he is “getting closer” after a series of less-than-stellar performances.
Following his impressive upset over the world’s third-ranked Alexander Zverev from Germany in the U.S. Open’s third round, he confidently signaled to Louis Armstrong Stadium that his journey is only just beginning.
“This victory feels extraordinary,” beamed the 25-year-old Canadian shortly after achieving this milestone, which marked his first win against a top-five player in a Grand Slam event.
“I’ve put in hard work to reach this point, but I still have unfinished business. Yet, this one feels incredible.”
Auger-Aliassime triumphed over Zverev with a scoreline of 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4 in a grueling three hours and 49 minutes, advancing him to a challenging fourth-round match against Russia’s Andrey Rublev on Monday.
The Canadian launched an offensive with a remarkable 50 winners, compared to Zverev’s 29. However, he had more unforced errors (35 to 31) and double faults (8 to 5), along with fewer aces (12 to 10).
The momentum shifted during the third set, and by the fourth, Zverev seemed unable to find a solution against the 25th seed.
Auger-Aliassime excelled on his serve, winning 78 percent of both first and second serves. He converted three of six break points and captured 14 percent of his return games.
Earlier in the day, fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov faced elimination from the U.S. Open, losing in the third round to the top-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy, with scores of 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
Hailing from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Shapovalov soared to a 5-2 advantage before Sinner rallied to even the score at 5-5, allowing Shapovalov to take the first set.
In the second frame, Shapovalov held a 3-2 lead before Sinner seized four of the next five games, leveling the match at one set each.
Shapovalov sprinted to another lead in the third set, this time 3-0, but Sinner clawed back to clinch the next six games and put the Canadian on the defensive.
In the ultimate set, Sinner established an early advantage at 4-1, ultimately sealing the match.
Despite recording 15 aces against nine double faults and capitalizing on three of six breakpoint opportunities, Shapovalov racked up 47 unforced errors compared to Sinner’s 36.
Conversely, Sinner managed only two aces with five double faults while breaking serve six times from 13 chances.
In women’s doubles, Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, alongside the legendary Venus Williams, advanced to the third round, triumphing over Japan’s Eri Hozumi and Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri with a score of 7-6 (1), 6-1.
The duo effectively converted four of their seven break point opportunities, clinched 79 percent of their first-serve points, and unleashed 29 winners compared to their opponents’ 19.
Next, Fernandez and Williams will face either Great Britain’s Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal or the pairing of Shuai Zhang with Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova.
