Isner outmatches Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime may have exceeded all expectations at the Miami Open, but he wasn’t about to declare a moral victory after letting an opportunity slip away.
The 18-year-old Montreal native lost 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) to No. 7 seed and defending champion John Isner of the United States in a tight semifinal at the ATP Tour Masters 1000 event on Friday.
The youngest semifinalist in the 35-year history of the tournament, Auger-Aliassime was broken while serving for each of the first two sets, allowing the six-foot-10 American to rally.
“I did the best that I could,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I probably did the best of all the players that played him this week. I just couldn’t serve from my part.
“It’s a chance you can’t miss, serving two times for the set, and just — I don’t know. It’s just terrible.”
Fellow Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov, a 19-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., was eliminated on Friday evening, falling in his semifinal to No. 4 seed Roger Federer of Switzerland 6-2, 6-4.
Auger-Aliassime was particularly frustrated with one game in the first set when he double-faulted three times while serving with a 5-4 edge. Isner got the break and proceeded to win the tiebreak.
“Yeah, for sure, nerves,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It’s like I caught a virus or something. I don’t know.
“I couldn’t put a second serve (in) anymore. Even the first serve, I mean, if you put it in, you don’t have to hit the second serve. Yeah, that’s just very tough to swallow.”
The big-serving Isner is now 9-0 in tiebreaks this tournament.
Auger-Aliassime won two qualifying matches before taking another five in a row to advance to the final four. He recorded just the third and fourth breaks against Isner all tournament, but couldn’t put him away.
The loss against Isner marked Auger-Aliassime’s first in six career matches versus top-20 players.
“I don’t know if it’s fatigue that maybe I lost my focus sometimes,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I didn’t feel like it was the focus or concentration. I just felt like, I don’t know, the nerves got to me a little. Yeah, I wasn’t able to do like all the other matches and just focus on what I had to do, and it really got to me too hard.”
In the second set, when leading 5-3 and with serve, Auger-Aliassime fought off one break point before missing a swinging volley, giving Isner the key break.
Isner got the first point for a minibreak in the second tiebreak and never trailed.
As usual, Isner’s serve was his big weapon. He had 21 aces, 15 more than Auger-Aliassime.
Despite the loss, the 57th-ranked Auger-Aliassime is projected to rise to about 33rd in the rankings next week.
He was scheduled to return to action at a clay court event in Morocco starting April 8, but said after Friday’s match that he’ll likely skip that event and start his clay season at the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo the following week.
“Now I’m going home for some rest,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Then I’ll start training for the clay season. Start in Monte Carlo and, yeah, obviously my goals and my expectations, maybe not my expectations, but I’m aiming high.”
Isner, meanwhile, was thrilled to return to the final.
“It’s amazing,” the 33-year-old told the crowd after his victory. “I said before the tournament the chances were I would not defend my title. I’m very, very happy.”
The women’s final Saturday will match No. 5 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic against No. 12 Ashleigh Barty of Australia.