Lost six finals - will Félix Auger-Aliassime make the premiere this week?
Félix Auger-Aliassime is on the way to becoming a world leader. However, the Canadian has not yet won a tournament.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 20, 2020, 03:29 pm
Egor Gerasimov will be the first player to test Félix Auger-Aliassime's ability to suffer at the second Cologne ATP Tour 250 tournament. The Belarusian has just left a game to Daniel Altmaier in round one, and goes into the duel with the 20-year-old Canadian without being burdened. However, he had to cope with the next disappointment on Sunday: “FAA” was also able to win the long-awaited first tournament victory against Alexander Zverev.
He had already been refused entry twice this year: in Rotterdam by Gael Monfils, then in Marseille by Stefanos Tsitsipas. In the previous year, Auger-Aliassime was in the finals in Rio de Janeiro, Lyon and Stuttgart and had no chance in the latter against a merciless Matteo Berrettini despite a narrow final result.
It was similar against Zverev: The German simply played more compactly, made fewer mistakes than his opponent. And was able to solve tricky situations again and again with the serve.
Zverev believes in Auger aliases
“I just don't play well in finals,” Auger-Aliassime said after the final. "It's very hard to accept that." He was simply frustrated with his level of play on Sunday.
It cannot be ruled out that Félix will get another chance this week. Should he beat Gerasimov, Jan-Lennard Struff would wait in the quarter-finals according to the seeding list, followed by Diego Schwartzman, a semi-finalist of the French Open, who is playing his first indoor tournament of the year. Auger-Aliassime could only meet his conqueror on Sunday in the last match after two weeks in Cologne.
And maybe the words that Alexander Zverev found in his strong speech after winning the title in Cologne's Lanxess Arena will come true. “Félix, you are an incredible player. I know that doesn't mean much to you now. But I am sure that you will win not just one title, but many in your career. And also bigger than this one. "