Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime sees great US Open run come to a tough end
Canadian tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime’s US Open run has come to an end.
On Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, Auger-Aliassime faced off against Jannik Sinner in the US Open semi-final in one of the biggest matches of his life.
Despite taking the second set off the world No. 1, the Montreal native fell 1-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 in a match that lasted a little over three hours and 20 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime’s appearance in the semifinal was his first in the final four of a major since making it to the same stage at the 2021 US Open.
But Auger-Aliassimeās run in this tournamentĀ will seeĀ a big increase in his live ranking, pushing him up 14 spots from world No. 27 to No. 13. The move helps him reclaim his spot as the top Canadian menās singles player. He’ll also take home US$1.26 million for making the semifinal.
Auger-Aliassime was just one of two players to take a set off of Sinner this tournament, with fellow Canadian Dennis Shapovalov also doing so in the third round last Saturday before falling in four sets.
Who will be playing in the US Open final?
Earlier in the day, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the other semifinal. While Djokovic holds a men’s record 24 Grand Slam titles, he’s yet to win one since his 2023 US Open title, with Alcaraz and Sinner splitting the last seven majors.
Sinner and Alcaraz met in both the Wimbledon and French Open finals earlier this year.
“[I was] trying to play a really physical match and I think I did it. In general, I played really good tennis and I’m just really happy to be able to play in my second final here,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview following the match.
Auger-Aliassime hasn’t been the only good story for Canadian tennis fans this tournament, though.
Canadian doubles player Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Erin Routliffe picked up the women’s doubles title on Friday, their second as a duo after also winning in 2023.