Auger-Aliassime: "Denis Shapovalov was always a good example"

Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime were the protagonists of a splendid 2019. The two Next Gen are the stars of Canada and now of world tennis. Denis and Felix have become the standard bearers of their nation, joining an already excellent team. The two U23s ended the year in Top25 (Shapovalov at number 15, Aliassime at number 21), capturing prestigious results in some of the most important tournaments on the circuit.

Felix Auger was the first to show off. In fact, in February he played a huge tournament at the ATP 500 in Rio, reaching the final, then lost to Djere. The following month he reached the semifinal in the Master 1000 in Miami, becoming the youngest semifinalist in 35 years. At the same time, Shapovalov also took the Miami Open semifinal, lost against Roger Federer.

But unlike Denis, Felix continued to express himself consistently at high levels, achieving a positive trail of results. In fact, in the following months Aliassime arrived in the final in Lyon, losing against Paire and Stuttgart, losing against Matteo Berrettini and ended the grass swing arriving in the third round of Wimbledon, winning his first game in a Slam.

Aliassime was full of praise for his good friend, former doubles partner and fierce rival. “He rose through the Rankings before me, a bit older than me, but he was always a good example of what you can do if you believe in your goals and your confidence,” Auger-Aliassime said. “He’s been a great friend overall, so I think that’s really the most important" - he said.

Currently, the head to head record stands in favour of Denis Shapovalov with him being 2-1 ahead of Aliassime.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3aeSSrR