Felix Auger-Aliassime has golden chance to become first Canadian to win French Open
Felix Auger-Aliassime couldn’t have asked for a clearer path to a Grand Slam singles title than the one he currently has at the French Open.
The 25-year-old Canadian is through to the quarterfinals on the clay courts at Roland Garros, after breezing through the first four rounds, dropping just two sets in the process. The Montreal native is now just three wins away from becoming the first Canadian man ever to win a Grand Slam singles title.
“I’m so happy,” Auger-Aliassime said, speaking in French, after beating unseeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile on Monday. “It’s a childhood dream to even play here. I came here for the first time when I was maybe 12, and it’s always been a dream to play here. I’m not French… But I feel at home.”
His quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday will be against Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, who is No. 14 on the ATP rankings. It’s anything but an easy matchup, but the road ahead could have been much more difficult.
Felix Auger-Aliassime advances to the quarterfinals with a convincing three-set victory over Alejandro Tabilo! 🔥
Watch the highlights ⏯️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Uzuzz8iiWt
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2026
The No. 4 seed at Roland Garros, Felix is the second-highest-ranked player left in the tournament, following earlier upsets to No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner and No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic. The No. 2-ranked player in the world, Carlo Alcaraz, isn’t playing in this year’s French Open due to a wrist injury.
The only player ranked ahead of Auger-Aliassime still alive at Roland Garros is Alexander Zverev, and Felix can’t meet the second-seed German unless they face each other in the final.
Other big names that have already been eliminated include Blake Shelton (5) and Alex De Minaur (7).
Felix made the US Open semifinal last year (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)
While Auger-Aliassime has a favourable draw, there is still work to do. His next opponent, Cobolli, is a player the Montreal native has yet to beat in two tries throughout his career. Felix has beaten Zverev just four times in 10 tries since 2019, though he did find a way to defeat the German in the fourth round of last year’s US Open.
Auger-Aliassime’s quarterfinal berth at Roland Garros made him the first-ever Canadian man to reach the quarterfinals in all four Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, US Open, French Open, and Wimbledon).
He’s still looking for his first appearance in a Grand Slam singles final.
Bianca Andreescu is the only Canadian ever to win a Grand Slam singles title, doing so at the US Open in 2019. Genie Bouchard (2014) and Milos Raonic (2016) both finished runner-up at Wimbledon, while Leylah Fernandez lost in the final at the US Open in 2021. A Canadian has never qualified for a singles final at the French Open.