Felix Auger-Aliassime’s dream of playing in a US Open men’s final will have to wait until next year.
The 21-year-old from Montreal lost in straight sets on Friday, losing a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 decision to second seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
The defeat leaves the hopes of the Canadian Grand Slam on the shoulders of 19-year-old Leylah Fernández, who makes her debut in the women’s final on Saturday against Emma Raducanu of Great Britain.
“Daniil was the best player on the court today for sure,” Auger-Aliassime said after the game.
“I had to play at my best level and even better if I wanted to win today, and I didn’t do it long enough.”
Auger-Aliassime, who was seeded 12th, held his ground during the semi-final against the mighty Medvedev, thanks to clever play at the net and returns his opponent often sent well beyond the baseline.
But a series of first serve failures and double faults caused the Canadian to give up several scoring opportunities, especially early in the first set, which Medvedev, who barely seemed to sweat throughout the match, easily claimed.
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And with a 5-2 lead in the second set, Auger-Aliassime couldn’t capitalize on a couple of set point opportunities. The Russian fought back to win five games in a row and take control of the match.
Even Medvedev himself seemed surprised that he managed to win in straight sets.
“Everybody felt like it was going to be one set (each)” after the second, he said, describing the reversal of fortune as a key turning point for both players.
“You never know how a game is going to go,” Medvedev said as he described how to close the gap. “That’s the moment I was able to mentally break him, and that’s what happened.”
Auger-Aliassime committed 39 unforced errors, including 10 double faults, three of them in the opening game. He managed just 17 winners to 37 for Medvedev, who had just 25 unforced errors.
Auger-Aliassime became the first Canadian to reach the US Open men’s semifinals earlier this week when Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from his quarter-final match with a leg injury.
But he clearly had his hands full with Medvedev, despite exhortations from a New York crowd who have shown their affinity for Canadian players throughout the tournament.
“A player like this, he just doesn’t have room to make mistakes, room to lose focus, which I did at the end of the second,” Auger-Aliassime said.
“He took advantage of that.”
Fernandez, whose surprising run to the final continued Thursday with a win over Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka, has attributed much of his success to the support of American fans.
Auger-Aliassime also turned out to be a favorite with the crowd on Friday, particularly those brandishing Maple Leaf flags. “Go find them, Felix,” they yelled. Come on, Felix. You got it.”
However, he did not leave Flushing Meadows empty-handed: The organizers presented Auger-Aliassime with the tournament’s sportsmanship award, which is given to the players who most embody the spirit of the game throughout the series.
Still, he couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“It’s great,” Auger-Aliassime said without enthusiasm about what has in fact been a solid performance throughout the season, one that included his first trip to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, as well as Friday’s semi-final spot.
“The final,” he added, “would have been even better.”
In women’s doubles, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani lost their semifinal match to the American duo of Coco Gauff and Catherine McNally.
Stefani awkwardly landed near the net during a tiebreaker in the first set and injured her leg. Dabrowski and Stefani held a 2-1 lead in the tiebreaker at the time.
It will be Medvedev’s second appearance in the men’s final in three years after losing to Rafael Nadal in 2019. He will face top seed Novak Djokovic or fourth seed Alexander Zverev, who were scheduled to play later on Friday.
Djokovic is trying to become the first man since 1969 to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar year. The feat was last accomplished by Rod Laver, the iconic Australian who received a heartfelt applause mid-game Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca