{"id":199301,"date":"2025-10-09T04:44:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T04:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/199301\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T04:44:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T04:44:10","slug":"what-happened-two-years-ago-may-worry-felix-auger-aliassime-as-he-continues-to-impress-in-shanghai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/199301\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened two years ago may worry Felix Auger-Aliassime as he continues to impress in Shanghai"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Everything seems to be going right for Felix Auger-Aliassime at the moment, but he won\u2019t want to get carried away.<\/p>\n

The Canadian star reached the semifinals of the US Open<\/a> last month, defeating Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, and Alex de Minaur at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n

After taking a brief break to get married\u2026 Auger-Aliassime returned to the court in China at the Shanghai Masters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Taking down Alejandro Tabilo and Jesper de Jong in rounds one and two, Auger-Aliassime then beat Lorenzo Musetti<\/a> to secure his spot in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

\"FelixPhoto by Lintao Zhang\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Watching the 25-year-old play over the last few months, fans have remembered why Auger-Aliassime<\/a> was once touted as a future Grand Slam champion.<\/p>\n

The world number 13 would be wise to block out that noise, however, given what happened to him two years ago.<\/p>\n

Felix Auger-Aliassime struggled after finding his best form in 2022<\/p>\n

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<\/a> titles.<\/p>\n

Three of those four ATP titles came in one month, as Auger-Aliassime found form in October, on indoor hard courts.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s ATP titles in 2022<\/p>\n

Qualifying for the ATP Finals<\/a> for the first time in his career, Auger-Aliassime finished the season ranked number six in the world.<\/p>\n

Expectations were high heading into 2023, with many expecting the Canadian to push on and challenge at the Grand Slams.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t to be, however, as Auger-Aliassime endured one of the toughest seasons of his professional career.<\/p>\n

\"FelixPhoto by Qian Jun\/MB Media\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

After reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open<\/a> in January, Auger-Aliassime didn\u2019t win another match at a major tournament all year.<\/p>\n

2023 French Open 1R \u2013 Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Fabio Fognini, 4-6, 4-6, 3-62023 Wimbledon 1R \u2013 Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Michael Mmoh, 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, 4-62023 US Open 1R \u2013 Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Mackenzie McDonald, 6-7, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6<\/p>\n

His results at the Masters 1000 level weren\u2019t much better, as he made just one quarterfinal, in Indian Wells<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Having been on the brink of a top-five debut 12 months earlier, Auger-Aliassime finished 2023 ranked 29th in the world.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Can Felix Auger-Aliassime win the Shanghai Masters?<\/p>\n

Next up for Auger-Aliassime is Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, a man he\u2019s beaten twice before on the ATP Tour.<\/p>\n

\"ArthurPhoto by HECTOR RETAMAL\/AFP via Getty Images2025 Cincinnati Open R32 \u2013 Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Arthur Rinderknech, 7-6, 4-2 (RET)2025 Mallorca R16 \u2013 Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Arthur Rinderknech, 7-5, 6-3<\/p>\n

Asked about Rinderknech in his latest Shanghai Masters press conference, Auger-Aliassime had this to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a great serve. You have to be careful. It\u2019s 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,\u201d said Auger-Aliassime.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n

Image impressionnante : Arthur Rinderknech s’est \u00e9croul\u00e9 sous la chaleur \u00e0 Cincinnati. Le Fran\u00e7ais s’est relev\u00e9 avant d’abandonner quelques jeux plus tard. pic.twitter.com\/nn74RyraCX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) August 11, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n

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\u201cBut I think this time is going to be different. I think he\u2019s ready to go. He\u2019s going to be super motivated to win. I need to expect his best, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should Auger-Aliassime make his way past Rinderknech, he would play either Alex de Minaur, Learner Tien, or Daniil Medvedev<\/a> in the semifinals.<\/p>\n

Then, in the final, he could meet Holger Rune, Valentin Vacherot, Zizou Bergs, or Novak Djokovic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Auger-Aliassime won\u2019t want to be thinking about the final just yet, however, as he first focuses on his quarterfinal match with Rinderknech on Thursday, October 9.<\/p>\n