Auger-Aliassime ‘fine’ after U.S. Open ends early
Less than 24 hours after a heartbreaking end to his main draw debut at a Grand Slam, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is focused on his next tournament instead of the heart palpitations that forced him to retire from his first-round match.
Bernard Duchesneau, the agent for the 18-year-old rising star, said Tuesday that AugerAliassime was “feeling fine” within an hour of retiring in the third set of his Monday night match against fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov. “We’re already looking at the upcoming schedule and we’re all out of New York, the whole team and Felix and his parents,” Duchesneau said in a phone interview with The Canadian
Press. “That’s what it is. It’s sports. Things happen and you turn the page and you move forward.
“We’re all going to work to make sure next time he’s going to finish the battle and that’s more what the disappointment (was about), not finishing a great battle against a great friend . ... A couple hours after (the match), he was smiling and joking.”
Trailing 2-0 in the third set, Auger-Aliassime was seen grimacing and clutching his chest before asking for a medical timeout. An ATP doctor examined him on court and tried to decrease Auger-Aliassime’s heart rate by dumping a bottle of cold water over his head.
Auger-Aliassime played three more games, winning one of them, before deciding to stop the match, ending a much-hyped contest between Canada’s top young tennis stars.
Duchesneau said the cause of Auger-Aliassime’s elevated heart rate was the heat and humidity in New York, dismissing the notion of a pre-existing condition.
The agent added that AugerAliassime saw the ATP Tour doctor briefly Monday night, which he said is protocol, but the Montreal native was not required to see a specialist or undergo any further tests at a hospital.
Auger-Aliassime told a TSN reporter after the match that he’d experienced heart palpitations before.
“I was hoping (the heart rate) could go down so I could finish that match, but it was just impossible for me to keep going with signs of dizziness and everything.”
Auger-Aliassime was visibly distraught when he retired, burying his face in a towel and starting to cry before being comforted by Shapovalov, who advanced to the second round with the 7-5, 5-7, 4-1 victory.
The No. 116-ranked teen went through three qualifying matches in New York last week to secure his spot in the main draw.