Wimbledon 2021 has welcomed a series of feelgood firsts and breakouts this Fortnight.
Felix Auger-Aliassime has been a promising player on the periphery of the major players for a few seasons. Now the 20-year-old is making major moves at the All England Club, earning his first ever Grand Slam quarter-final with a turbulent 6-4, 7-6(6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 triumph over No.4 seed Alexander Zverev.
“It’s a dream come true, it’s unbelievable. You dream of moments likes this as a kid,” said the teenager, in just his ninth Grand Slam main draw. “I’m a normal guy from Montreal, Canada. Here I am. No.1 Court, packed, Wimbledon. Surely the best victory of my life.
“With the roof closed the sound was crazy, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”
The Canadian, who warmed up for Wimbledon with a final run in Halle, will face Queen’s Club champion Matteo Berrettini in the last eight.
“Both our girlfriends are cousins, so it just happens that we spend a lot of time together. He's one of my best friends on the tour. He's really a great guy, great person,” added Auger-Alliasime, who has been watching the Euro 2020 football with the Italian.
“I think it's good to get to play each other. We both have had a great tournament so far. We'll try to leave it all out there, and it's going to be good.”
Zverev confidently canvassed the net in the opening exchanges but the German’s serve can buckle amid waves of double faults. A brace landed him in trouble before a deft backhand drop shot saved him.
It was a very staccato start from Zverev, fending off three break points in a 12-minute hold for 4-4. It proved a fluorescent warning sign.
Auger-Aliassime ramped up the pressure with a smooth service game, before the world No.6 unravelled. Sixty-six minutes of gritty tennis and the Canadian had chalked up the opener.
The German, seeking to complete the Grand Slam set of quarter-finals, roared 3-1 into the ascendancy with a selection of punchy volleys. Unfortunately for Zverev fans, the 24-year-old’s serve was still lacking conviction.
He seemed perplexed as to why his jitters have come back to haunt him. A 133mph second serve launched long, shortly followed by a 134mph second delivery catapulting long. It wasn’t pretty, but Auger-Aliassime was remaining resolute and efficient as ever en route to earning a tie-break.
An ebb and flow to 4-4 and then the world No.19 grasped the initiative. A booming serve and overhead, a smart forehand squash shot and picturesque pick-up volley did the business.
Zverev has come back from two sets down twice before, in the US Open semi-finals last September and then last month at Roland-Garros against Oscar Otte. He has become an expert in digging himself out of uncomfortable scoreboard deficits.
In contrast, Auger-Aliassime had only one five-set clash to his name, falling to Aslan Karatsev, having held a 2-0 advantage, at the Australian Open this season.
Would experience tell? Significantly, Zverev landed 88 per cent of first serves in the third set, claiming nine out of 10 of those points. That was vital, the deficit was halved.
The fourth set was similarly dominant, however, prior to a rain delay halting the contest.
Back in play, under the lights, Auger-Aliassime clattered down an ace, saluting the crowd at 2-0 up. Never count out Zverev, who demanded applause from the No.1 Court spectators having drawn level with remarkable retrieval skills and reaction volleys. Only for the serve to disintegrate the comeback momentum.
A 20th double fault fuelled Auger-Aliassime’s time to shine, breaking for the pivotal advantage of 4-3 and, with four hours on the clock, the Canadian managed to serve out and fall to his knees in celebration.
“It was super difficult. The story is I’ve never beaten Zverev before,” said the Canadian, who had lost all three previous encounters with the German. “He’s such a great player, I’d always struggled against him, never won a set.
“After two sets to love I had belief, then he started playing better, serving better, things got really difficult when he came back from that break in the fifth set. I really had to dig deep.”
For the first time in history, multiple Canadian men have reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam singles, with Denis Shapovalov also into the last eight.
"It's great for me personally. You're fighting of course for yourself to win, for your team," continued the No.16 seed. "In the back of your mind you also have everybody back home. The tons of messages I receive after from people that have helped me to get where I am today. It means a lot.
"For me to give this back to them is also great. It's teamwork. The country's behind us. My city is behind me. It's really good to do that, to have this much support.
Again, a great day for us Canadians and hopefully it keeps going."
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