When 24-year-old Montreal native Felix Auger-Aliassime takes to the tennis court this week in Toronto, he\u2019ll be doing so trying to break a 70-year-long curse.<\/p>\n
The most recent Canadian men\u2019s singles player to win the Canadian Open (also known as the National Bank Open) was Robert B\u00e9dard, who won the tennis championship in 1955.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re away, you don\u2019t always feel all the support and love you get from Canadian fans and Canadians in general. And then when you do come back, being here, going around restaurants and streets, going to do tours of different media here, I really feel the support that we have from Canadians,\u201d the tennis star told Offside on Friday. \u201cThat fills me with a lot of love, a lot of strength and desire to play well for the Canadian fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Auger-Aliassime\u2019s best run at the event came in 2022, when he advanced to the quarter-finals. The three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist (and 2021 US Open semi-finalist) comes into the tournament with a current ATP ranking of 27, a significant drop-off from his No. 6 spot just three years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to really try to do my best to play well, because the Canadian fans deserve it. They give us a lot of support, even when we see them overseas,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Auger-Aliassime, who won an Olympic bronze medal last year in mixed doubles alongside Gabriela Dabrowski<\/a>, will be facing the winner of unseeded Fabian Marozsan and Hugo Dellien. It\u2019s a tournament that has seen many top names such as Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Carlos Alcaraz all drop out.<\/p>\n \u201cThe year is long, and obviously players will have to make decisions about their schedule. But that doesn\u2019t change my goal here, regardless if they were here or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Tickets for the main draw start at just $15\u00a0for single-session tickets for early round matches,<\/a> which include access to smaller, secondary courts on the Sobeys Stadium grounds. A free access family weekend for qualifying on Saturday and $20 seats for the opening draw on Sunday have already sold out.<\/p>\n