MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -- All Canadian singles players are out of the Australian Open after Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic suffered losses in the round of 16 on Sunday.
The 20th-seeded Auger-Aliassime blew a two-set lead in losing 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 3-6, 4-6 to Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, while the 14th-seeded Raonic lost 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
FELIX FALTERS AFTER FAST START
Quebecer Felix Auger-Aliassime from Montreal sadly collapsed in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The 20-year-old lost in five sets of 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to Russian Aslan Karatsev on Sunday at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne.
Auger-Aliassime was leading two sets to zero when Karatsev showed his quality and turned up the heat to win the next three sets. The Quebecer could have reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career.
"It's a shame," said Auger-Aliassime. "It's a shame that I couldn't win today. It's hard to digest, but that's tennis. It's life."
Karatsev surprised the eighth-seed Argentinian Diego Schwartzman to advance to the fourth round of the tournament. Thanks to his victory against Auger-Aliassime, the Russian now awaits the winner of the duel between Austrian Dominic Thiem and Belarusian Grigor Dimitrov.
"He played well," said Auger-Aliassime. "Obviously, I would have liked to serve better, but I can't do it by snapping my fingers. I have to be better overall and overcome these situations."
Twentieth seed in Melbourne, Auger-Aliassime seemed in perfect control of his destiny after two sets.
He only needed 39 minutes to win the first set against the Russian, and, at one point, Auger-Aliassime saved break point though being down 0-40, and he won the next five points to take a 5-2 lead.
Late 0-1 in the second set, Auger-Aliassime won his first service game with three aces. He went on to win five straight games to win the set in 29 minutes.
Karatsev started his comeback in the third set.
Both players won the first two games before the Russian took a 4-2 lead. The Quebecer made 10 unforced errors in the third set and lost his first set of the tournament.
Things did not improve in the fourth set, as Auger-Aliassime let Karatsev win three straight games. The Russian then scored five aces to eventually force the final set.
Karatsev broke Auger-Aliassime to give himself a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Leading 4-2, the Russian gave his opponent a hard time, forcing six deuces, but Auger-Aliassime was able to close the gap by winning his serve.
Karatsev, however, closed the books when he had the serve, needing only a match point to show the Quebecer the door.
"The good thing is that I have remained mentally positive," said Auger-Aliassime. "I believed until the end. Even when I was trailing in the fifth set, I kept trying and believing in it."
RAONIC YET TO BEST THE JOKER
Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., fell to 0-12 for his career against Djokovic.
Djokovic said he tore a muscle after falling in his previous match, a five-set victory over Taylor Fritz. He then said he wasn't sure if he could play against Raonic, but he managed to overcome any problems to win his 300th career Grand Slam match.
As a result, none of the seven Canadian singles players will play in the quarterfinals.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2021.
