Félix Auger-Aliassime had skipped the preparatory tournament in Adelaide in order to arrive in top form in Melbourne for the Australian Open, dropping three places in the process.
But ironically, it was his body that gave out in the first round on Sunday. Hit in the left leg, the Quebecer, seeded seventh, had to give up in the fourth round to the Portuguese Nuno Borges, who won by forfeit of 4-6, 6-3 and 6-3.
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New York’s outpourings of joy gave way to bursts of frustration from the eighth player in the world.
However, it started so well…
However, nothing suggested such an outcome early in the meeting.
Against the 46e player in the world – a not-so-obvious draw – Félix had a solid serving game in the fourth game, during which he accelerated the tempo with two aces and a rally won with two powerful racket strokes.
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From then on, the Quebecer seemed to have found his touch in Melbourne. During Borges’ turn to serve, “FAA” offered himself three non-consecutive break points, the first of the match. As they say, never two without three. And the third was the good one: Auger-Aliassime took the lead 3-2.
Poor Borges may be a catcher, but it was often he who found himself hooked, in the pay of Félix’s powerful slaps on serve, who moved incredibly well in return and whose strikes found the ground with precision.
This is how the 25-year-old player offered himself his first set points. He won the initial set on his first.
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A frustrating outcome
His first serving games, in the second set, were tighter. Twice, the Portuguese scored 30-30 on Auger-Aliassime’s throws. At 2-2, he took his first two break points of the match.
The second was the good one, when he forced “FAA” to make a mistake. But the delay was short-lived for the Quebecer, who in turn gave himself a break point in the next game, thanks to a superb passing at arm’s length.
Except that… in the next game, Félix, who had visibly lost his composure and who was troubled by the beautiful sun shining over Melbourne, despite the white cap he was wearing, offered another break to Borges, on a double fault.
And then, the Quebecer started to struggle physically. The more the third round progressed, the more his left leg seemed to hurt him. He gave three break points to Borges, he saved two, but on the third, he decided not to make the last move.
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He preferred to raise his finger at the official to call on the services of the sports therapist, who finally came after the third set.
But clearly, “FAA” was not happy to see his leg fail him like this, in the first match of the first major tournament of the season, after having reached the semi-final at the US Open.
After missing a shot, Auger-Aliassime hit his left foot with his racket, in a rare sign of frustration. Luckily, it was the racket that broke and not the foot.
However, the trainer could not do anything about it. From the first point of the fourth round, Félix chose to throw in the towel, probably for fear of making things worse at the start of a long season…
Same scenario for Stakusic
Barely an hour later, another Canadian representative fell in the first round. The young Marina Stakusic, who had not lost a round in qualifying to qualify for the main draw, also had to withdraw due to an injury.
Like Auger-Aliassime, the Ontarian won the first set against Priscilla Hon in convincing fashion, 6-1. Everything went wrong afterwards. Stakusic remained on the ground several times after points in the third round. Assailed by cramps, she finally threw in the towel at 5-3, when her opponent was preparing to serve for the match.
It was in a wheelchair that the Canadian player left the field, helped by her Australian opponent.
It was a close duel so far. The 127e WTA racket defended itself well against a much more experienced rival whose first appearance in singles at the Australian Open dates back 10 years. The two women had managed four breaks of serve each.
The last Quebecer in the running, Leylah Fernandez (22e), will make her debut Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern time, facing Indonesian Janice Tjen, 59e world.
