Rogers Cup spot a perfect gift for Montreal teen
Félix Auger-Aliassime couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present.
The rising Montreal tennis star turns 17 on August 8 and he’ll mark the occasion with a centre-court appearance at the Rogers Cup Canadian Open men’s tennis championships, running Aug. 5-13 at Jarry Park.
“It’s the best present I’ve ever had,” said Auger-Aliassime, who shares a birthday with tennis legend Roger Federer. “Playing a Masters 1000 match on my birthday is going to be something special.”
At a news conference Wednesday to announce the field for the 56-man event, tournament director Eugene Lapierre said Auger-Aliassime, 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil will receive wild-card entries. They will join Milos Raonic, No. 7 in the ATP Tour rankings, in the main draw.
“This is the earliest we’ve ever announced the wild cards, but the kids have been playing great tennis,” Lapierre said.
Last year, Tennis Canada gave Auger-Aliassime a wild-card invite for the qualifying event at the Rogers Cup, but he lost to Australia’s James Duckworth.
“Luis Borfiga (the head of Tennis Canada’s development program) was impressed with the progress they’ve made and felt they were ready,” Lapierre said.
Auger-Aliassime abandoned the junior ranks in December to concentrate on the professional game and has climbed nearly 400 spots in the ATP Tour rankings to No. 229. He had a breakthrough this month when he won a Challenger event in Lyon, France. He became the seventh-youngest player to win a Challenger, joining the likes of Michael Chang, Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet.
“I’m thankful,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It’s a great opportunity for me. I would have been happy to play the qualies as well. It’s something special for me to play in Montreal. The difference is that, being in the main draw, I have a better opportunity to do something big. The way I compete, I wait for these big moments.”
Auger-Aliassime is following in the footsteps of Shapovalov, who abandoned the junior circuit last summer. Shapovalov won the Drummondville Challenger this year and has climbed to No. 164 in the ATP rankings.
“I’m proud of the way I’ve dealt with different conditions,” AugerAliassime said. “I made huge progress mentally and physically ... I’m a hard worker and it’s paid off in the last few weeks, winning my first title in a Challenger.”
Winning a Challenger was the goal Auger-Aliassime and coach Guillaume Marx set at the beginning of the year. He said they haven’t had time to set a new target, but he is getting closer to a ranking that will get him into the qualifying for the U.S. Open. Good showings in a series of Challengers in Winnipeg, Gatineau and Granby could lift him into the Top 200.
The youngsters join a worldclass entry list that features the top 44 players in the ATP Tour rankings. There’s the top five of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka. Raonic is the top Canadian hopeful.
Then there’s a large contingent of youngsters. This group includes Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Lucas Pouille, Borna Coric and Nick Kyrgios.
Lapierre said he’s keeping fingers crossed that all the players will be here.
“I don’t see any injuries or sore knees or anyone expecting twins,” Lapierre said.
The grounds at Jarry Park will be open Friday, Aug. 4, so fans can watch the players as they practise. There will also be free access to the grounds for the qualifying matches Aug. 5 and Aug. 6, although Lapierre said this policy may be changing in the future. Most of the qualifying matches involve top100 players and Tennis Canada is looking at adding the matches to the revenue stream.