In this interrupted year one of the worst moments of his young careerAbove all, overshadowed by a serious knee injury, Félix Auger-Aliassime achieved a brilliant performance at the ATP tournament in Basel on Sunday by lifting the trophy at arm’s length. The Quebecer had revealed the day before that it was a title he hadn’t even dared to dream of this year because things were going so badly.
As defending champion in Switzerland, Félix defeated fourth-seeded Poland Hubert Hurkacz 7:6 (3) and 7:6 (5) on this hard indoor surface, where “FAA” is one of the best in the world.
The Resilience Trophy
But this second consecutive coronation in Basel took place under very different circumstances to last year, when the Quebecer won his third title in as many weeks in a stunning end to the season.
This time, this trophy is more about the resilience of a young athlete who was once far from the standards to which he had accustomed his followers. At one point, between June and early October, “FAA” lost seven times in eight ATP tournaments in his first game.
Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final in Basel against Hubert Hurkacz. Photo AFP
However, Félix was convinced that once he managed to achieve victories, he would regain the game – and above all the self-confidence – that had allowed him to reach sixth place in the world rankings at the end of last season.
Imperial in every way
And that’s exactly what he’s done in the last two tournaments, played indoors, where his powerful serve and attacking game are at their best: Auger-Aliassime, a quarterfinalist in Tokyo last week, beat two members of the Top 15 in the world Holger Rune, sixth, whom he beat in the semifinals on Saturday, then Hurkacz, twelfth.
A Hurkacz who seemed physically weakened from the end of the first set, but against whom the 19th in the world, the sixth seed in Basel, never trembled.
Extremely dominant with the balls in hand and very comfortable in return despite his rival’s strong serve, Félix quietly made his way to the fifth title of his career at the age of 23.
A trophy he achieved after persevering in the quarterfinals when he ignored cramps and saved a match point in the third round against Alexander Shevchenko, ranked 83rd in the world.
More details to follow.