Felix Auger-Aliassime’s dream of taking part in in a U.S. Open males’s ultimate must await subsequent yr.
The 21-year-old from Montreal misplaced in straight units Friday, dropping a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 choice to second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
The loss leaves Canada’s Grand Slam hopes on the shoulders of 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez, who makes her debut within the girls’s ultimate Saturday towards Emma Raducanu of Nice Britain.
Auger-Aliassime, who was seeded twelfth, held his personal all through the semifinal towards the highly effective Medvedev, because of artful play on the web and returns his opponent typically despatched effectively previous the baseline.
However a string of first-serve misses and double-faults noticed the Canadian relinquish a number of scoring alternatives, particularly early within the first set, which Medvedev _ who barely appeared to interrupt a sweat all through the match _ claimed simply.
And with a 5-2 lead within the second set, Auger-Aliassime did not capitalize on his set level alternatives, letting the Russian surge again by taking 5 straight video games.
Auger-Aliassime grew to become the first-ever Canadian to achieve the U.S. Open males’s semifinals earlier this week when Carlos Alcaraz of Spain retired from their quarterfinal match with a leg damage.
However he clearly had his fingers full with Medvedev, regardless of the exhortations of a New York crowd that has demonstrated its affinity for Canadian gamers all through the match.
Fernandez, whose shocking run to the ultimate continued Thursday with a win over Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, has attributed a lot of her success to the help of the U.S. followers.
Auger-Aliassime proved a favorite with the group Friday as effectively, significantly these brandishing Maple Leaf flags. “Go get ’em, Felix,” they shouted. “C’mon, Felix. You bought this.”
In girls’s doubles, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani misplaced their semifinal match to the American duo of Coco Gauff and Catherine McNally.
Stefani landed awkwardly close to the online throughout a first-set tiebreaker and injured her leg. Dabrowski and Stefani had a 2-1 edge within the tiebreaker on the time.
Will probably be Medvedev’s second look within the males’s ultimate in three years after dropping to Rafael Nadal in 2019. He’ll face both No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic or fourth seed Alexander Zverev, who sq. off later Friday.
Djokovic is making an attempt to develop into the primary man since 1969 to win all 4 Grand Slam tournaments in a single calendar yr. The feat was final completed by Rod Laver, the long-lasting Australian who basked in a heartfelt ovation Friday halfway via the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
