Follow us on Google Discover Everything seems to be going right for Felix Auger-Aliassime at the moment, but he won’t want to get carried away.
The Canadian star reached the semifinals of the US Open last month, defeating Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, and Alex de Minaur at Flushing Meadows.
After taking a brief break to get married… Auger-Aliassime returned to the court in China at the Shanghai Masters.
Taking down Alejandro Tabilo and Jesper de Jong in rounds one and two, Auger-Aliassime then beat Lorenzo Musetti to secure his spot in the quarterfinals.
Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Watching the 25-year-old play over the last few months, fans have remembered why Auger-Aliassime was once touted as a future Grand Slam champion.
The world number 13 would be wise to block out that noise, however, given what happened to him two years ago.
Felix Auger-Aliassime struggled after finding his best form in 2022
Auger-Aliassime enjoyed the best year of his career in 2022, reaching a Grand Slam quarterfinal, four Masters 1000 quarterfinals, a Masters 1000 semifinal, and winning four ATP titles.
Three of those four ATP titles came in one month, as Auger-Aliassime found form in October, on indoor hard courts.
TournamentMonthTierSurfaceFinal opponent2022 Rotterdam OpenFebruaryATP 500Indoor HardStefanos Tsitsipas2022 Firenze OpenOctoberATP 250Indoor HardJ.J. Wolf2022 European OpenOctoberATP 250Indoor HardSebastian Korda2022 Swiss IndoorsOctoberATP 500Indoor HardHolger RuneFelix Auger-Aliassime’s ATP titles in 2022
Qualifying for the ATP Finals for the first time in his career, Auger-Aliassime finished the season ranked number six in the world.
Expectations were high heading into 2023, with many expecting the Canadian to push on and challenge at the Grand Slams.
It wasn’t to be, however, as Auger-Aliassime endured one of the toughest seasons of his professional career.
Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images
After reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, Auger-Aliassime didn’t win another match at a major tournament all year.
2023 French Open 1R – Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Fabio Fognini, 4-6, 4-6, 3-62023 Wimbledon 1R – Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Michael Mmoh, 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, 4-62023 US Open 1R – Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Mackenzie McDonald, 6-7, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6
His results at the Masters 1000 level weren’t much better, as he made just one quarterfinal, in Indian Wells.
Having been on the brink of a top-five debut 12 months earlier, Auger-Aliassime finished 2023 ranked 29th in the world.
Only Auger-Aliassime will know what went wrong for him two years ago, but he will certainly hope to have learned from his mistakes as he looks to carry his current form through to 2026.
Can Felix Auger-Aliassime win the Shanghai Masters?
Next up for Auger-Aliassime is Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, a man he’s beaten twice before on the ATP Tour.
Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images2025 Cincinnati Open R32 – Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Arthur Rinderknech, 7-6, 4-2 (RET)2025 Mallorca R16 – Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Arthur Rinderknech, 7-5, 6-3
Asked about Rinderknech in his latest Shanghai Masters press conference, Auger-Aliassime had this to say.
“He’s got a great serve. You have to be careful. It’s tough to win a match with just a forehand or a backhand. But with a serve, you can stay in a match, and you can win matches with that one shot. If he does that well, he can push me deep in sets,” said Auger-Aliassime.
“I think both times we played this year, maybe we had a tiebreak. I mean, for sure, in Cincinnati, we had a tiebreak. Then he was struggling physically, unfortunately.
Image impressionnante : Arthur Rinderknech s’est écroulé sous la chaleur à Cincinnati. Le Français s’est relevé avant d’abandonner quelques jeux plus tard. pic.twitter.com/nn74RyraCX
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“But I think this time is going to be different. I think he’s ready to go. He’s going to be super motivated to win. I need to expect his best, for sure.”
Should Auger-Aliassime make his way past Rinderknech, he would play either Alex de Minaur, Learner Tien, or Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.
Then, in the final, he could meet Holger Rune, Valentin Vacherot, Zizou Bergs, or Novak Djokovic.
Auger-Aliassime won’t want to be thinking about the final just yet, however, as he first focuses on his quarterfinal match with Rinderknech on Thursday, October 9.