Jannik Sinner had beaten Karen Khachanov 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open 2024. While he was pitted against Canadian tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime next, Sinner gave up to a hip injury he was carrying in the tournament. His withdrawal from the competition has opened up the draw further as Augur-Aliassime moved into the semifinals.
Interestingly, with this decision, Sinner remains winless against the Canadian in his career so far, having lost their previous 2 clashes. Before Jannik Sinner made the decision, he sat down for an interview wit Prakash Amrtiraj, one of the Madrid Open commentators for the Tennis Channel and recalled their Madrid Open 2022 match which Felix Auger-Aliassime won with ease, 6-1, 6-2 in the Round of 16.
Although Sinner has grown leaps and bounds after that match, he still remembers it like a painful memory. He was full of praise for the Canadian, although the words he used for him, are unlikely to come out of the Italian’s mouth for his other opponents like Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Here’s how the conversation between Jannik Sinner and Prakash Amritraj went down:
Amritraj: “What do you make of this match-up? It’s interesting of course. It’s not like your typical clay-court because of the altitude. You saw Felix do a little attacking there coming to the net. What do you make of this match-up here?”
Sinner: “Well, for sure, I played against Felix two years ago and then he completely killed me. I remember we played on Court 3 and I had no chance.”
In that match, Auger-Aliassime indeed did not give Sinner any chance to get an edge over him. The Canadian scored 5 aces in comparison to Sinner’s 1. The former bagged 90% of his points on the first serve and won 65 points in that match.
On the other hand, Sinner only clinched 48% of his points on the first serve and won just 38 points overall. Felix Auger-Aliassime was faster, he was hitting every shot with more power, moved around the clay court with tremendous agility, and his serves were deadly.
Sinner was speaking to Amritraj, while the match between Casper Ruud and Felix Auger Aliassime was going on. He wasn’t sure who would win then, but in the end, Auger-Aliassime won 6-4, 7-5. The Canadian has now made it to the semifinals of the Madrid Open 2024 courtesy Sinner’s walkover.
Felix Auger-Aliassime Also Looks Up to Jannik Sinner
While Sinner lauded Felix Auger-Aliassime for beating him in all their matches so far, the Canadian is also awed by Sinner’s progress as a tennis player. During the 2024 Open Sud de France, Felix Auger-Aliassime was in distress during his match against Harold Mayot in the quarter-final.
He forged through his pain and won the match 7-5, 6-1. The struggle and the powering through were very reminiscent of Jannik Sinner’s struggles in the 2023 China Open.
Auger Aliassime took inspiration from Sinner in building his physical resilience and came out victorious on the other side. Sinner faced the same during his quarter-final match against Grigor Dimitrov at the 2023 China Open. He somehow managed to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, despite losing the second set.
Although Sinner went on to win his tournament, Aliassime lost his Open Sud de France semi-final match to eventual champion Alexander Bublik.
In the Madrid Open 2024 semifinals, Felix Auger-Aliassime is likely to face the winner of the quarter-final match between Daniil Medvedev and Jiri Lehecka, which is set to take place on Thursday, May 2.
