Felix Auger-Aliassime shares his views on playing in two different eras of tennis.
The Canadian made his main draw debut on the ATP tour in 2018, a year Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic shared the Grand Slams between them.
Seven years later, two members of that iconic trio are now retired and the other is now ranked at number seven.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the young players at the forefront of the men’s game and Auger-Aliassime has seen that transition take place.
Felix Auger-Aliassime comments on playing Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on tour compared to Novak Djokovic
Felix Auger-Aliassime is one of a small group of players on tour who had the opportunity to play Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and now Sinner and Alcaraz.
The young Spaniard and current World number one have five Grand Slam titles between them and they are the players at the forefront of the new era of tennis.
In a conversation with Arab News, Auger-Aliassime shared how he feels about having played against three of the greatest of all time, and the difference playing against his younger rivals in Sinner and Alcaraz.
“It’s different. Rafa, Roger, Novak were idols of mine growing up. These guys, I have a ton of respect for them and they’re unbelievable players, but they’re not my idols in a way,” he said.
“They’re my rivals, my competitors, and they’re good guys too. So it’s good for the sport. That being said, I feel like obviously 18, 19, 20, I was in that group. You know, 22, six in the world and then had some difficulties.
“But it’s been interesting. It’s been interesting. I would have loved to keep on climbing the rankings, keep winning big tournaments.
“But I feel like as a person, these last two years taught me a lot, gave me a lot of important lessons that hopefully are going to serve me now in this next part of my career and in my future life as well.”
What is Felix Auger-Aliassime’s head-to-head record against Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and the ‘Big 3’?
Auger-Aliassime played a combined six matches against Nadal, Federer and Djokovic.
He won his only match against Federer in Halle back in 2021, and after Djokovic beat in Rome in 2022, the Canadian earned his first win over the Olympic champion later that year at the Laver Cup.
Auger-Aliassime lost to Nadal in Madrid in 2019, and is one of just three men to take him to five sets at the French Open, before he was beaten 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3. The World number 21 won their last meeting at the ATP Finals.
He has not played Sinner since 2022, and claimed both their meetings that year, but he has played Alcaraz on seven occasions.
Auger-Aliassime won their first three meetings, but Alcaraz has won the last four, including three matches in 2024.
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