Auger-aliassime notches upset in Miami
MIAMI Canadian teen Felix Auger-aliassime knows there are expectations that come with being a breakout star in pro tennis, but he also knows it’s a burden he doesn’t have to bear alone.
Auger-aliassime scored yet another big win by an up-and-coming Canadian star with a fourth-round upset of Nikoloz Basilashvili on Tuesday at the Miami Open.
The 18-year-old from Montreal, who had to win two qualifying matches just to get into the ATP Tour Masters 1000 event, showed a veteran’s composure in the 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over the No. 17 seed from Georgia.
Auger-aliassime, who came into the tournament ranked 57th in the world, is guaranteed to move up to at least 41st next week with his latest victory. He is the first player born in the 2000s to reach the top 50 and the second Canadian teenager along with Denis Shapovalov.
The two young men are joined on the women’s side by 18-yearold Bianca Andreescu, who won in Indian Wells, Calif., last week and reached the fourth round in Miami before retiring with a shoulder injury, to form Canada’s trio of tennis teen sensations.
“Yeah, we are definitely seeing it and feeling it,” Auger-aliassime said of the increased expectations for the young players. “But I think it’s all positive. I don’t think anyone sees it as an extra pressure or anything.
“I think we’re all just enjoying our time and enjoying the fact that we are three young players plus (veteran Milos Raonic) that are playing, you know, good at the same time.
“Having examples like this in the country is crucial. I remember for me it was. So to be able now to give back and inspire younger kids is a privilege.”
Auger-aliassime is just the second qualifier in the last 20 years to reach the Miami quarter-finals. Argentina’s Guillermo Canas was the other, advancing to the final in 2007.
Shapovalov, the 20th seed in Miami, was scheduled to play No. 8 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in a fourth-round match on Tuesday.