CANADIAN TEEN FORCED OUT BY HEART SCARE
Felix Auger-Aliassime leaves match with Denis Shapovalov in third set.
One heart racing. Two hearts breaking.
Felix Auger-Aliassime wept, Denis Shapovalov consoled, their arms wrapped around each other. Both so clearly distressed.
And it had just about nothing to do with tennis.
Best friends, Canadian compatriots, this was the first time they’d faced each other at a grand slam. The anticipation had been keen on Monday night for their opening-round clash on the grandstand court. But the fun drained out of it abruptly.
Alarmingly, Auger-Aliassime was forced to retire trailing 4-1 in the third set after the teenagers had split the first two, each by a score of 7-5.
The 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime buried his head in the shoulder of the 19-year-old Shapovalov, tears rolling down his cheeks
“It’s OK, it’s OK,” Shapovalov assured his pal.
There will doubtless be many more head-to-head slam matches to come, Shapovalov told him.
No handshakes. No arms raised in triumph for the victor by default. Just genuine concern. And palpable worry in Auger-Aliassime’s family box.
“It’s really tough to see him go down like this,” Shapovalov said in an on- court interview immediately afterward. “I told him, look, we’re going to be back here, we’re going to be playing in the finals, this is just one match. We’re going to have so many of these.”
Presumably, hopefully, not like this one though.
Auger-Aliassime’s distress, at least outwardly, began during the turnover, serving to start the third game, with Shapovalov up 2-0.
That’s when Auger-Aliassime called for a trainer.
From the other side of the net: “Are you OK?”
No, he wasn’t. Auger-Aliassime lay down courtside, his legs lifted. He could be heard complaining to the trainer that his heart was racing and this had happened before.
“Can I just breathe for a bit?” he asked.
“Sure,’’ responded a woman who appeared to be a doctor. “Take long, slow breaths.”
It is rarely seen that a member of the medical staff pulls out a stethoscope to measure a player’s heartbeat.
“I’m trying to get the heart rate down,” the woman explained to the chair umpire, as she poured a bottle of water over Auger-Aliassime’s head.
It was a hot night at Flushing Meadows. Temperatures earlier in the day had reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit. And certainly there was plenty of emotion underpinning this confrontation between the besties, first match for Shapovalov, seeded 28th in the main draw, while Auger-Aliassime had sailed through three qualifying matches last week.
Maybe it was just too much adrenalin, although that did not appear to be the case with Shapovalov at one point mentioning that Auger-Aliassime had been through a similar incident before. Which is hard to fathom, in a fit and agile teen athlete.
Auger-Aliassime, back on his feet, went to the line as play resumed. Shapovalov was encouraging. “Just try your best, keep going.”
But the body language showed he was in obvious discomfort or disoriented. He was also up against the 25second shot-clock which was introduced to the main draw of this tournament this year. The Montreal native took almost every second available to him between points and, aided by some sloppy play from Shapovalov, held serve at 2-1.
He was labouring, though, as it became increasingly evident during Shapovalov’s service game, not running after balls on returns and coming practically to a complete stop as Shapovalov held to love. When Shapovalov jumped out 0-40 in his friend’s service game, Auger-Aliassime somehow fought back, retrieving a pair of break points but moving methodically, almost robotically, occasionally standing stock still. Across the net, Shapovalov seemed to be struggling with his own concentration, though he did prevail with his seventh break.
That’s when Auger-Aliassime, his face crumbling, indicated he couldn’t go on, retiring at 2:29 mark of the match.
It was not immediately clear what had caused Auger-Aliassime’s condition but there were reports that he has had problems with his heart before and was diagnosed with tachycardia, which forced him to retire from a Challenger event in Guadeloupe in 2017.
Shapovalov told reporters he was perplexed and apprehensive when he saw Auger-Alias- sime stretched out alongside the court. “Obviously he was struggling with something. Yeah, it’s not easy to see. I saw he was struggling on the other side the next couple of games. It’s tough to keep pounding at it when he’s a brother to me. Obviously I want the best for him, for him to be healthy.”
They’ve known each other for more than a decade, pushed each other through the years. They were the boys’ doubles champions at Flushing Meadows three years ago.
“We grew up together. I think I’ve known him since I was seven or eight,” Shapovalov said. “Our whole lives we’ve known each other ... Now we are here playing at a grand slam.”
Too early in the draw and too early over.
They had only gone head to head as pros once before, in Drummondville, Que., last year, with Shapovalov winning. This one didn’t taste so good.
“Definitely a tough way to win. At first, I honestly think we were both very tight and I don’t think the level was great. Then, in the second set, it was a lot better for both of us.”
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, made his slam breakthrough in Queens last year, making it to the round of 16 and rocketing up the rankings following a semifinal exit at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Auger-Aliassime has been just a step behind in their tennis maturation, currently ranked No. 116 and becoming the first man born in the 21st century to qualify for the main draw of this tournament.
The teenagers had been hanging out together in New York, if stunned at the odds that had them in a first-round confrontation, the youngest U.S. Open matchup since 2006. One way or the other, a Canadian was guaranteed into the second round and another Canadian would be immensely disappointed, though no one could have foreseen this outcome.
It wasn’t great tennis, but it was compelling while it lasted.
Another Canadian, the topseeded Canadian, Milos Raonic, also advanced, setting aside Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq 7-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Raonic unleashed 26 aces but noted he was a little lacking in discipline on some of his service games. “Otherwise, I got the job done and have to be happy with that. When there was pressure on me, I stepped up and I was able to play better in those scenarios.”