Fearless Felix Denies Gallant RBA
Pitting the full range of his all-court talents against the determined defence of Roberto Bautista Agut, Felix Auger-Aliassime claimed one of his best wins of 2021 Friday night to charge into the fourth round of the US Open.
In addition to an intoxicating mix of 65 net approaches and 77 winners, including 27 aces, the Canadian showed great resilience to wrestle back the match momentum after dropping the third and fourth sets before rallying for a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 win in front of boisterous fans on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“I live for these moments,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I started off the best I could by winning the first two sets but then unfortunately from being a break up I didn’t solidify and things got tricky. He grew more confident and I didn’t serve so well, but the crowd helped me to dig deep.
“There were a lot of emotions but I tried to settle down and in the fifth set my mindset was to play every point the best I could and to stay focussed. It worked, so I will try to keep going this way.”
Auger-Aliassime claimed an early break in the fifth and later in the set twice had to stave off stern challenges, saving three break points when serving at 4-2 and fighting back from 0/30 to serve out the match.
The World No. 15 has now reached the second week at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open this season. He next will meet Andrey Rublev or Frances Tiafoe.