–
Flushing Meadows, New York-Félix Auger-Aliassime knows that he is being respected as a person in the dressing room.
But one of the things he plays for – most players, he says, is to be respected as one player.
“I am a bit torn, because on the one hand I am in the fourth round. I have already been in that position and I want to go even further. So the tournament continues. But on the other hand it is a very satisfying victory because (Alexander Zverev) is a player that I have had in the past. 6-4, 6-4 victory on number 3 seed.
“It’s what I do every day, it’s my profession. I think there is a part of me fighting before, in competitions like this,” he added. “It’s like:” Okay, you think what you think. But I know my value. And I want to prove it to people. ” So if this kind of competition can send me a message – that I am not leaving my project.
Zverev, who was 6-2 against Auger-Aliassy who came in but struggled, he said afterwards, to feel the ball in this tournament a lot in the same way as he struggled last year, Auger-Aliassy gave a little bit of bulletin board material when he spoke victory after his second round.
“I think we have played a few times. You know, (Auger-Aliasassime) is someone who, if he plays well, plays very well. If he doesn’t play well, he really doesn’t play well. So he is in the third round. That means he plays well,” said Zverev.
Auger-Aliassime made notes.
“When you had the adolescence that I had, and the level I produced when I was young – and then you have difficulties – people of course say that,” he said about the Zverev remarks with just a hint of a grin. “But it’s not only he. Other players say it too. We all play that game a bit between players, we all fight for people to respect our name.‘
Flawless, says FAA
During his interview on the field immediately after the game, Auger-Aliassime acknowledged the lucky Let Cord that gave him the second set of tiebreak. And he acknowledged some early jitters.
He was one point removed to do not go two sets to anyone, at 6-5 in that second set of tiebreak.
But otherwise …
“It was a nervous start, the first few games, and then it was pretty strange, pretty flawless. I was lucky in the tiebreak. But with the way I played in the third and fourth, what happened in the second set, I gave myself a chance,” he said. “I saw it big today and I certainly felt good on the field.”
The last time that Auger-Aliassime defeated a top 10 player at a Grand Slam was that five-set victory over Zverev in Wimbledon, four years ago. And because Zverev is currently number 3, it is the first time that he has defeated a top five player in a major.
And that it was Zverev, against whom he had trouble winning setsMuch fewer competitions, made it all sweeter.
It is the first time since the Australian Open 2023 that Auger-Aliassime made the second week of a hard major.
Not a great matchup
Tennis is a game of matchups. And Zverev is usually not a good matchup for Auger-Aliassime.
With Zverev’s Backhand his premium shot and the majority of the foundations of Auger-Aliasses (his inside-out forehand and his overwhelming Cross Court-Backhand) that goes straight into that power, it is a huge challenge for the Canadian to get on top of the rallies.
But on this night he did that.
Auger-Aliassime served well. He was impressive on the net. He returned as well as in, well, an era. He kept the mistakes low. His top spin -backhand held out, while Zverev’s did not. And he mixed enough slice to rob Zverev about what he prefers: rhythm.
“Of course, it’s no secret. Many players do that to him. He is a player who is excellent when he gets some rhythm. He is a bit of a metronome. And of course I don’t want to get stuck in backhand-to-backhand exchanges,” he said. “The goal was to have variation, so that I might get the next shot a advance, or it slows down the game a bit and then I can hit quickly. It often worked pretty well. I am glad I decided to put that plan in place, and that I performed it correctly.”
Rublev in the next place
The next is no. 15 seed Andrey Rublev, for a shot at the quarterfinals.
Rublev, whose ranking has also fallen in recent years, needed five sets to pass the young qualification Coleman Wong earlier on Saturday.
The Russian is 7-1 against Auger-Aliassime, who only defeated him once in the semi-final of his first career ATP Tour title in Rotterdam.
But apart from their most recent competition at the Hamburg -Klei this spring, it is always Been tight. “Several times I was a break in the third set,” said Auger-Aliassime. “But this will be a first time in a Grand Slam. So I believe in my chances.”
In the meantime, the Post-Victory Celebration Moves will already go on the internet.
“There was a lot of noise. It is not something you can reproduce elsewhere, but in New York, at night, it is something you can do to have fun with the fans,” he said.
About post -author
#Big #victory #FAA #Zverev #Open #Open #Court