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It’s little comfort for Félix Auger-Aliassime, after his 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) loss to Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, that an uncommon variety of prime gamers have been upset on the 2023 Australian Open.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each the boys’s and ladies’s occasions did not get out of the fourth spherical, and the fates of seeded and big-name gamers has been as unpredictable as the primary week’s climate – 37 levels someday after which 17 levels the following.
However in Margaret Court docket Enviornment on Sunday it was an virtually ideally suited 23 levels and Auger-Aliassime received off to begin, breaking serve within the third recreation and holding his subsequent 4 service video games at a lack of simply 4 factors to wrap issues up in 35 minutes.
At that second his round-of-16 match was unfolding because it ought to – and that lasted till he served within the eighth recreation of the second set, which began ominously with a double fault. Ultimately he was damaged. Down love-30, he rallied to 40-30 however then misplaced three factors in a row – getting slightly unfortunate on the break level when a Lehecka shot landed brief and compelled him ahead into an ungainly place. He pushed a forehand huge. Lehecka then held serve and the match was useless even after an hour and 11 minutes. It had additionally had its final service break.
From that time, Lehecka was clearly the extra constant and dominant participant. In each the third and fourth set tiebreaks, which in the end decided the end result, Auger-Aliassime received behind early with some sloppy play and by no means recovered. Within the fourth set tiebreak at 1-1, Lehecka, brimming with confidence, hit a working forehand down-the-line that regarded out all the way in which however, fortuitously for him, curled in on the final second and caught a little bit of the road. Auger-Aliassime was surprised and momentarily regarded like he anticipated/hoped to listen to an ‘out’ name. None got here and a replay confirmed the ball had landed good.
Quickly it was 4-1 and in the end the hill to climb proved to steep, the match ending in three hours and 13 minutes.
Lehecka was undeniably the extra free-swinging, potent ball striker over the ultimate two units and the match stats confirmed that. In rallies of 5 to eight strokes, he prevailed 31-13, and in these of 9 plus it was 14 to eight. That’s a decisive baseline superiority of 45-21 in prolonged rallies.
One unlikely however maddening and deflating sample was recurring for Auger-Aliassime and his supporters – his incapacity to win the primary level on Lehecka’s serve. Within the Czech’s 17 service video games from the beginning of the second set, Auger-Aliassime solely as soon as received to love-15 – within the ninth recreation of the second set. It was as if he all the time giving the Czech a head begin. A couple of love-15 scores at the start of service video games may need sown seeds of doubt within the No. 71-ranked Lehecka, particularly towards a extra skilled participant of No. 7-ranked Auger-Aliassime’s stature. However they didn’t occur.
Auger-Aliassime typically hit lengthy with forehand returns on these first factors. “I by no means discovered a option to put him in bother on his serve,” Auger-Aliassime lamented concerning the final three units. “I continued to serve properly and get myelf out of some sophisticated conditions. However on my return, I attempted to range my place however I simply couldn’t discover my timing or a consolation zone. On the finish, I attempted some slice returns to range, however perhaps I began slightly too late.”
In addition to Auger-Aliassime served – the numbers had been even higher for the 6-foot-1 Lehecka (Auger-Aliassime’s numbers in brackets) – his first-serve share was 69 (65), first-serve factors received share 83 (82) and second-serve factors received share 64 (48).
Each gamers had 39 winners however Lehecka mixed them with 33 unforced errors to 45 for Auger-Aliassime. And Lehecka was an absolute revelation on the web – successful 33/41 factors to simply 11/26 for Auger-Aliassime.
“He performed higher than me general,” Auger-Aliassime mentioned, including that he was conversant in Lehecka. Ranked No. 137, he certified and had a breakthrough on the ATP 500 in Rotterdam final February, the occasion the place Auger-Aliassime received his first ATP title. The Czech’s run included a first-round 6-4, 6-4 upset of Denis Shapovalov.
“I bear in mind seeing him final 12 months across the identical time in Rotterdam,” Auger-Aliassime mentioned. “He made the semifinals (shedding to Stefanos Tsitsipas), and he was enjoying very well. I’m positive we’ll see plenty of him sooner or later. Right now he performed properly, served properly.”
Auger-Aliassime dismissed any ideas that his underwhelming match was associated to expectations after his spectacular 2022 season. “I didn’t really feel a stress about enjoying a Grand Slam,” he mentioned about his method to AO ’23. “There’s slightly nervousness at the start of the match. However I don’t attribute the way in which I performed to something psychological or emotional. I felt good earlier than the match. I believed I began the final two matches higher than my two first ones.”
As for Lehecka, he gained helpful perception on the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals in Milan final November. He beat three 21-and-under gamers like himself to achieve the ultimate the place he misplaced to No. 49-ranked Brandon Nakashima, after the American additionally beat him within the round-robin section, each instances in straight (four-game) units. On the occasion, he received the precious expertise enjoying earlier than giant crowds and coping with skilled media obligations. “A gate to the massive tennis,” is how he described Subsequent Gen 2022 at his media convention on Sunday.
His loss to Taylor Fritz and a victory over Alexander Zverev two weeks in the past on the United Cup in Sydney had been additionally useful in him turning into extra accustomed to the top-level of the boys’s tour.
As for Auger-Aliassime on the 2023 Australian Open, he was unable to summon the extent of recreation wanted for Grand Slam success. That included dropping behind 5-0 within the first set of his opening match towards Vasek Pospisil and struggling to search out kind by way of Alex Molcan of Slovakia within the second spherical, Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina within the third after which Lehecka.
Requested about what was going by way of his head as he walked off the courtroom proper after his match towards Lehecka, Auger-Aliassime gave a forthright response, saying, “I take into consideration what occurred – and I handle my feelings. I breathe simply and attempt to keep calm. After which, truthfully, I take into consideration what has occurred to me…what’s carried out is finished. I take into consideration what I’ll do the following few weeks earlier than Rotterdam (February 13). All of it continues. It’s been a sophisticated week – ultimately I felt I couldn’t actually discover my recreation. So I simply have to simply accept it. Now that it’s over, I’m already occupied with what’s forward.”
Final week, Auger-Aliassime spoke about how his Croatian girlfriend Nina Ghaibi had informed him concerning the so-called ‘Netflix jinx,’ referring to gamers featured within the new Netflix documentary collection ‘Break Level’ all shedding or leaving the match for one cause or one other. They included Paula Badosa, Matteo Berrettini, Taylor Fritz, Ons Jabeur, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios, Casper Ruud, Maria Sakkari, and Ajla Tomljanovic. With Auger-Aliassime’s defeat the sweep of the forged of 10 characters featured in Break Level is full and, extremely, all are out earlier than the second week even began.
“I perceive the factor,” Auger-Aliassime mentioned concerning the jinx. “It’s much less enjoyable whenever you’re a participant. It’s not one thing I’m occupied with in any respect.”
With that, the gentlemanly Auger-Aliassime left the interview room however not earlier than wishing ‘bon retour’ (have journey residence) to the 4 francophone journalists current.
The third-seeded pairing of Gabriela Dabrowski and her Mexican accomplice Giuliana Olmos superior to the third spherical of the doubles on Sunday. They defeated the Swiss workforce of Belinda Bencic and Jil Teichmann 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Subsequent for Dabrowski and Olmos would be the American-Russian duo of Caroline Dolehide and Anna Kalinskaya.
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