Felix Auger-Aliassime Powers Through to Reach US Open Semifinals!

Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

After nearly four years to the day since his first semifinal appearance at a Grand Slam, Felix Auger-Aliassime entered Wednesday morning's quarterfinal matchup with a chip on his shoulder, hoping to replicate his success in New York back in 2021, when he reached his first major semifinal. However, since Wimbledon 2023, Auger-Aliassime has struggled at the Slams, posting a record of seven wins and ten losses.

This week at Flushing Meadows, however, the Canadian seems to have refound his form. Felix stunned No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in the third round, and followed that up with a hard-fought victory over the 15th seed Andrey Rublev. The Canadian faced another tough challenge in the quarterfinals, that being the Australian and No. 8 seed, Alex de Minaur.

The Canadian No.1 had to dig deep, holding his nerve throughout and pulling out all the stops to overcome the speedy and very defensive Aussie. After dropping the first set, it looked as though Auger-Aliassime would not have an answer. But the fighting Canadian stuck to his aggressive game plan as the Australian began to show cracks in his game. Errors crept into the Australians’ play, and with Felix’s serve holding strong throughout, he managed to close out the match in four grueling sets, spanning over four hours.

Apart from being known as one of the fittest and healthiest players on tour, Auger-Aliassime outgunned de Minaur in the end with 51 winners, which topped de Minaur’s 29 winners. Felix also had a terrific serving day, leading the way with 21 blistering aces and 11 double faults–a very respectable ratio given de Minaur’s 8 aces and 11 double faults. While Felix may have committed 50 unforced errors to de Minaur’s 41 errors, Felix’s first serve percentage of 64 percent,and 84% first serve win % proved to be the ultimate difference maker.

At 25, Auger-Aliassime usually finds his best form in the latter half of the season - particularly on indoor hard courts. This time, though, he seems to have found his stride a little earlier than usual–a huge bonus to achieve, given this is at a major event. Coming into New York ranked No. 28, his five consecutive wins have propelled him up 15 spots to No. 13 in the ATP rankings.

Looking ahead, a Friday night semifinal against World No. 1 and defending Champion Jannik Sinner would bring even greater rewards to Auger-Aliassime. A victory would not only send him to his first major final but also boost his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals later this November in Turin, Italy. It would mark the second time Auger-Aliassime would appear at the year-end championships after his debut in 2022, following a historic 16-match winning streak and capturing three straight indoor titles.

While the daunting task of World No.1 Jannik Sinner awaits on Friday night's semifinal, Felix Auger-Aliassime will look to draw on his most recent meeting with Sinner in Cincinnati. If Felix can overcome this challenge, he will become the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam Final since Milos Raonic at Wimbledon in 2016. Although Felix Auger-Aliassime has already proven this week that he is more than capable of defying all the odds.

Despite holding a 2-1 advantage in his head-to-head against Jannik Sinner, their most recent clash in Cincinnati–where Felix suffered a lopsided and shocking defeat– remains fairly fresh in his mind. That experience, however, could serve as very valuable preparation for the Canadian as Auger-Aliassime attempts to rewrite the history books and advance to his first major final.