It’s under and out for Shapo
Auger-Aliassime wins the battle of Canadians in Oz. DiManno,
G’day mate. And good night Shapo.
In an all-Canadian showdown Down Under, between BFFs, it was Félix Auger-Aliassime who prevailed over Denis Shapovalov on Friday evening.
It was a commanding straight-sets triumph — 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 — for the 20-year-old from Montreal over the 21year-old from Richmond Hill — although, proprietary nationalism aside, Auger-Aliassime now lives in Monte Carlo while Shapovalov hangs his signature spun-backwards cap in the Bahamas.
They met when they were nine and 10, respectively, and even then Auger-Aliassime admits he was in awe of the precociously flamboyant lefty. In the years since they’ve played each other countless times — if only four times in tour matches that counted — practised together even more, shared a bedroom in salad days, dreamed big mutually.
One is long and lean and poker-faced. The other is muscularly solid and wears a gamut of emotions on his sleeve.
But when Auger-Aliassime polished off their fourth encounter with an emphatic smash at match point, after momentarily staring across the net — a glare, really — his face split in a gap-toothed grin.
He’d got the best of his opponent, on what was far from a best performance by Shapovalov, and for the first time in his career Auger-Aliassime is into the round of 16 at a Grand Slam.
He will be joined there by compatriot Milos Raonic, who earlier in the afternoon disposed of Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in four sets. Shapovalov, endlessly entertaining, will be missed in Melbourne, where he was the 11th seed and anticipating greater things.
The tournament is headed back into COVID-19 lockdown for at least the next five days as the Australian government strives to contain a sudden outbreak of the hyper-infectious U.K. coronavirus variant in the state of Victoria. Authorities announced 13 new cases tied to an employee of a quarantine hotel in Melbourne. Tennis Australia assured the Slam will continue but players would have to live and compete in a bio-secure bubble throughout the lockdown. This is the way of the world now as sports struggle to coexist with a global pandemic.
“It’s a shame you won’t get to be there for the next couple of days … but thank you so much, it’s been an amazing night,” Auger-Aliassime told the crowd, which had been very much in his corner.
Shapovalov, who has been a fan favourite since he burst on the scene, is probably not used to being the lesser adored.
Auger-Aliassime had the spectators and the match in his wheelhouse from start to finish, continuing to barrelhouse through a competition where he has yet to drop a set. A year ago, at his Aussie Open debut, the teenager was ousted in the opening round. And he began this campaign a mere 24 hours after contesting and losing the final at the Murray River Open. He still hasn’t broken his ATP title maiden, going 0-7 in tour finals.
“It’s never easy,” Auger-Aliassime said at his post-match press conference, of going mano-a-mano with Shapovalov, “not just because we know each other but because he’s a great player. It’s a big challenge, so to come through in three sets like that, it means a lot. It’s good for my level, my confidence, and hopefully I can build from this.”
In his on-court interview, a clearly over-the-moon AugerAliassime had also noted: “He has beaten me pretty badly a couple of times and tonight it went my way. I was flawless and I played an amazing match.”
It wasn’t braggadocio. The young man was forthrightly chuffed with himself.
And why not? The 20th seed hit 31 winners and earned five service breaks, completely discombobulating Shapovalov, who left the court following the first set with some kind of a medical issue that was never explained. He asked for a doctor and could be seen taking some pills.
The real pain in the gut, however, arose from 37 unforced errors.
Shapovalov started out well enough, earning the first break on Margaret Court Arena at 3-3 of an opening set that would run for 54 minutes. Yet Auger-Aliassime claimed the frame, focusing on Shapovalov’s backhand and benefitting immensely from the errors.
“Thought I had all the momentum and then I just got tight,” said Shapovalov. “Just sprayed four points in a row. Nerves got to me a little bit and after that he got some belief, started playing really well. It was tough after that.”
Shapovalov regrouped in the second set and seemed to have seized the momentum, breaking Auger-Aliassime in the fifth game. The match ebbed and flowed, flowed and ebbed. If there was a distinct point where the tilt swung to AugerAliassime it was on the return of a tricky volley at full-stretch, Auger-Aliassime summoning all his power on an amazing shot that broke Shapovalov and restored parity on serve. He consolidated with a hold to lead 5-4, then broke Shapovalov again with a huge forehand winner to win the set.
“There were games where I had a lot of loose mistakes and was missing more,: said Shapovalov.
Auger-Aliassime sprinted into a 3-0 lead in the third set, remained calm under pressure to save a pair of break points at 3-1 and, except for one or two poor shot choices, didn’t blink or flinch for the balance of the match.
He had lost twice to Shapovalov at the U.S. Open but made a statement over two hours and 21 minutes in Melbourne.
“It wasn’t about him, it was really about me,” mused Auger-Aliassime about the trouble he’s had with Shapovalov at majors. “Doesn’t mean that his game is not tough to play. His game causes me problems, like a lot of players. So of course I try my best to figure out a way.”
Shapovalov: “He was putting a lot of returns in the court, so overall he was just playing really solid. It was really impressive to see but, you know, I expected it. He’s been in great form, great shape, playing great matches. Yeah, for me it was no surprise.”
Auger-Aliassime next faces Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev for a place in the quarterfinals. The world No. 114 stunned eighth seed Diego Schwartzman in three sets on Friday, his first match against a top-10 player.
With Raonic’s win over Fucsovics — 7-6, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 — he and Auger-Aliassime become the only two Canadian men to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open in the open era. The only previous major where a brace of Canadians reached the fourth round was last year’s U.S. Open — actually the trio of Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil.
Raonic, 30, will attempt to reach the quarters in Melbourne for the sixth time on Sunday, but he’ll have to go through Novak Djokovic, if the world No. 1 is fit to play.
Djokovic said he tore a muscle during a five-setter Friday against American Taylor Fritz and might need to withdraw from the tournament, though Fritz wasn’t convinced.
“If he can play like he played in the fifth, I don’t see why he wouldn’t play. He’ll beat pretty much anyone.”