‘We’re not here by chance’
For the first time, two Canadians make it to Australian Open quarterfinals
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Some 24 hours after Denis Shapovalov reached his first Australian Open singles quarterfinal, friend and countryman Félix AugerAliassime joined him.
Auger-Aliassime overcame a fast and furious start by 2018 finalist Marin Cilic and held on tight until he could turn things around for a 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory on a steamy day in Melbourne that challenged even the fittest tennis players in the world.
Fellow Canadian Milos Raonic has reached the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open five times. But this marks the first time two Canadians have done it in the same year. And it’s the second time in the last three Grand Slam tournaments that they have done it. It’s also the third consecutive Grand Slam tournament in which AugerAliassime has reached at least the quarterfinal stage.
Now it gets even tougher. On Wednesday, Auger-Aliassime will play No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev, who survived the throwback serve-volley game of Maxime Cressy — as well as the heat and some physical woes — to advance on Monday. Shapovalov squared off against 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal early Tuesday in Melbourne.
“I’m thrilled for him, and thrilled for Canadian tennis. I think we’re both showing that we’re not here by chance. We’re proving week after week that we’re here to stay,” Auger-Aliassime said.
The Montreal native had managed to win just one set in three previous losses to the Croat. And Cilic was nearly untouchable in the first set this time; there wasn’t much Auger-Aliassime could do. The 21-year-old Canadian was erratic on the forehand, too — a problem he’s spent the last couple of years on tour trying to resolve.
“I tried to stay in contact, find a solution little by little. And I started to serve better in the second set,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Compared to other times I played him, there was less panic on my part. I stayed calmer. I believed in myself a bit more, and I think that’s what made the difference at the end.”
Medvedev is another player Auger-Aliassime has yet to beat in three tries. He came closest in their first meeting, at the National Bank Open in Toronto in 2018 as AugerAliassime was just turning 18. Medvedev won in a third-set tiebreak.
“We’ve both evolved throughout the times we played. That first time (in 2018) he wasn’t the Medvedev of today, and I’m not the same, either,” Auger-Aliassime said.
Canadian tennis fans have been up until all hours because of the 16-hour time difference, watching the Canadian men reach the latter stages of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. Auger-Aliassime hopes the Melbourne sunshine — and the winning — can be a bit of a distraction from all that’s going on back home.
“With the very cold winter, the pandemic protocols and confine- ment, I hope we can put smiles on peoples’ faces,” he said.