Félix Auger-Aliassime: ‘I’ve shown great things. I’m closer and closer to my goal’

Only a few weeks ago, in the final days of May, Félix Auger-Aliassime put himself within touching distance of history. For four gruelling hours, he faced Rafael Nadal in his temple, Court Philippe Chatrier, and matched him all the way. Unafraid at the beginning then unmoved as he trailed by two sets to one, Auger-Aliassime became only the third man ever to force Nadal to a fifth set at Roland Garros.

But he could not finish it. Nadal did what he always does there, elevating his level precisely when he most needed to. It was an immense effort from the challenger, but afterwards, he says, he was emotional. He felt so close to victory. It had also come four months after losing to Daniil Medvedev in five sets at the Australian Open quarter-final, which he had accepted with a smile on his face even after holding match point. It hurt.

“I felt like victory was not so far and when you feel that and you lose, it’s never easy to swallow,” Auger-Aliassime, 21, says in an interview with the Guardian in the days before Wimbledon. “But it’s alright. At the end of the day, these last two grand slams have been very positive for me. I’ve shown great things. And I think it just means that I’m closer and closer to my goal.”

The healthy, mature perspective that guides Auger-Aliassime is more promising than any single win. Three years ago, after blazing up the ATP rankings as an 18-year-old and standing on the brink of the top 20, he rounded on the first senior Wimbledon of his career as the young player of the moment.

In the end he was unable to perform under the pressure and expectations. He lost in the third round, in a performance that he has called embarrassing. Auger-Aliassime always had a tremendous serve, a vicious, heavy forehand