F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime has long been one of the more measured and reflective players on the ATP Tour. He is desperate to achieve his potential, but the Canadian also understands that improvement is often a long process and remaining patient is essential.<\/p>\n
That is what made his reaction to defeat at the French Open so striking. As the fourth seed reeled from his desperate quarter\u2011final loss to Flavio Cobolli<\/a>, fully conscious of the fact he had missed a great opportunity, Auger\u2011Aliassime was as distraught in public after a loss as he has ever\u00a0been. His patience had run\u00a0out.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t complain with my life, but I\u2019m in a place right now with my career that it\u2019s tough,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m destroyed a little bit.<\/p>\n \u201cI usually handle losses pretty well. My whole career, I was going back to training with optimism and positivity. Now I feel as if I\u2019m not the player I want to be, so today is a difficult day.\u201d<\/p>\n Paris this year played host to one of the most dramatic men\u2019s grand slam tournaments in recent history, with the second seed, Alexander Zverev, emerging from the chaos to finally win his first major title<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the aftermath, quite a few other leading players would be smart to reflect on how badly they failed to give themselves a chance to compete alongside the German for the title.<\/p>\n Before Roland Garros, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner had shared nine consecutive grand\u00a0slam titles between them, leading\u00a0many\u00a0to question the strength\u00a0of the challengers behind. Those questions will now only\u00a0increase.<\/p>\n Alcaraz, the defending champion, was absent due to injury while Sinner lost in round two<\/a>, but most of the top players were nowhere to be seen. Zverev faced one top 20 opponent, Cobolli (the world No 14) in the final, in his seven matches.<\/p>\n It is nearly impossible to exaggerate the madness that unfolded elsewhere. Sinner had entered the tournament as the strongest favourite this century\u00a0(other than Rafael Nadal in 2009) after rolling through victorious in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. Instead, he led Juan Manuel Cer\u00fandolo 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 before completely crumbling physically and losing 18 of the next\u00a020 games.<\/p>\n F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime was distraught after his quarter-final loss. Photograph: Franco Arland\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Sinner\u2019s loss transformed the draw, but four of the top 12 \u2013 Daniil\u00a0Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Bublik and Jiri Lehecka \u2013 were already out. Ben Shelton, the fifth seed, was out by the end of the day.<\/p>\n The next day, the 39-year-old Novak Djokovic led the 19-year-old Brazilian Jo\u00e3o Fonseca by two sets before being outgunned in five dramatic sets<\/a>.<\/p>\n This was certainly a good tournament for youngsters, with 20-year-old Jakub Mensik, 19-year-old Rafa Jodar and Fonseca all enjoying breakthroughs, even if they were not ready for more.<\/p>\n The rest of the tournament was defined by tension as those remaining tried to seize the opportunity of a lifetime. It is hard to imagine there will be a day like Saturday 30 May again, where nearly every match in the top half vacated by Sinner was so tight.<\/p>\n Five of the eight contests went to five sets, including a ridiculous five\u00a0hour, 58 minute win for Cer\u00fandolo over Martin Landaluce, the longest five-set match with a match tie-break. After Matteo Berrettini retired from his quarter-final match with Matteo Arnaldi, Arnaldi withdrew <\/a>before his scheduled semi-final against Cobolli due to a virus. These men were mentally and physically\u00a0destroyed.<\/p>\n One of the bleakest aspects was the sheer number who did not make it to the start line and so many of the absentees being contemporaries of Alcaraz and\u00a0Sinner, players who could have taken the tournament by storm.<\/p>\n On the eve of the event, the news that the 21-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils would be unable to compete here because of a hip injury was a massive blow. He had been one of the best performers in the previous few months, a champion in Barcelona and semi\u2011finalist in Miami and Madrid. It was deeply disappointing he did not have the opportunity to see how he would have handled the\u00a0pressure.<\/p>\n Jakub Mensik was among the young players to impress in Paris. Photograph: Thomas Samson\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n