We all have bad (sometimes very, very bad) days. For Félix Auger-Aliassime, today was one of those days.
On Friday afternoon at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, he crashed out of the quarterfinals, ejected by Casper Ruud (4) of Norway in a 75-minute two-setter (6-1, 6-2).
What happened? Félix was brilliant in his first two matches. Was it pressure? A case of nerves? Physical and mental fatigue? Bad luck? It’s hard to say.
“Everything went my way,” admitted Ruud. “There are days like that when everything goes right. I’m sorry for Félix and for the crowd.”
FAA gave his legion of fans a lot of hope at the very top of the first set with a break at love, but the magic quickly faded.
He lost 10 straight games and didn’t win on serve until 1-6, 0-4. It was an utter collapse no one saw coming.
Hitting erratic groundstrokes and unproductive serves, he had to contend with a determined and flawless rival who took control of the match and set the pace of the rallies.
“That was my shortest match all week. I’ll be able to rest before I play Hubert [Hurkacz] tomorrow,” Ruud said.
During the match, Auger-Aliassime hit ten aces and four double faults. While the winner may have only secured four aces, but didn’t commit a single double fault.
With 21 unforced errors and 19 winners versus 8 unforced errors and 22 winners, Auger-Aliassime didn’t have a chance.
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