Round of 16 not so sweet for Canada
Canadian singles players are left at the Australian Open after Félix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic suffered losses in the round of 16 on Sunday.
The 20th-seeded Auger-Aliassime dropped a 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 decision to qualifier Aslan Karatsev. Later in the day, topseeded Novak Djokovic beat the 14th-seeded Raonic 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Djokovic said he suffered an unspecified muscle tear after a fall in his previous match, a fiveset victory over Taylor Fritz. He then said he wasn’t sure if he could play against Raonic, but managed to overcome it for his 300th career Grand Slam match win.
“If it’s any other tournament than a Grand Slam then I would retire, withdraw from the event, that’s for sure,” Djokovic said in an on-court TV interview. “When it warmed up it was fine. During the match it was kind of on and off.”
In the end, he extended his career streak to 12-0 against the big-serving Canadian. Djokovic dropped his racket and hurdled an advertising hoarding while chasing down a return in the first set, and later watched as the 14th-seeded Raonic had his right ankle retaped during a medical timeout in the second.
His movement wasn’t peak Djokovic, but it was good enough to produce 41 winners and drop only one of his 20 service games. His career match record in the four majors is now 300-45, making him the only man other than Roger Federer (362-59) to compile 300 wins.
“I won the match against a great player,” Djokovic said, “and hopefully it’s going to be even better in two days.”
Raonic had a 26-10 edge in aces, but finished with 35 unforced errors, 10 more than Djokovic.
Auger-Aliassime, from Montreal, blew a two-set lead and a chance to advance to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
“He played good,” AugerAliassime said of Karatsev. “Of course, I wish I could’ve served better, but I can’t just snap my fingers and it just happens.”
Canadians Bianca Andreescu, Vasek Pospisil, Denis Shapovalov, Leylah Fernandez and Rebecca Marino were eliminated in earlier rounds.
“It’s really a shame that I couldn’t get through today,” said Auger-Aliassime, still looking for his first tour title. “It’s difficult to swallow, but it’s tennis. That’s how it is. That’s life.”
Karatsev, ranked 114th in the world, had upset No. 8 seed Die- go Schwartzman to reach the fourth round.
Auger-Aliassime was cruising through the first two sets. Partway through the opener, he fought off three break points and took the game for a 5-2 lead, and eventually the set in 39 minutes. The second set lasted just 29 minutes.
The Canadian committed 10 unforced errors in the third set alone, dropping his first set of the tournament. Karatsev remained steady to set up a decider — the first time either player had gone five sets. Karatsev earned a break for a 2-1 lead and didn’t trail from there.
“The positive thing is, mentally, I stayed positive,” AugerAliassime said. “I believed until the end. Even when I was down in the fifth set I still tried, I still believed.”