By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday October 29, 2023
A year of fits and starts and injury worries may have set Felix Auger-Aliassime off the pace of the sports’ top players, but the 23-year-old Canadian proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that he still has an elite game this week at the Swiss Indoors Basel.
Auger-Aliassime finished off a compelling title run on Sunday with a 7-6(3), 7-6(5) triumph over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
With his win the World No.19 remains perfect at Basel, stretching his all-time record to 10-0 as he became the first Canadian to successfully defend an ATP title in over a decade and joined Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro on the list of players to have successfully defended the Swiss Indoors title this century.
“I’m definitely back,” Auger-Aliassime said on court after the final. “I let my racquet talk, that’s always been the motto of my career. I’ve had the conviction that I can be a top player since I was a kid, but there were many doubts this year about my performances and why – I’m happy that I was able to prove to everybody that I still belong, that I’m one of the best players in the world, that I can still play at this level.
“I never doubted, but it’s good to confirm it on the court.”
Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Holger Rune in the semifinals and also saved a match point during his quarterfinal win over Alexander Shevchenko, dropped just nine points on serve in the match and never faced a break point. He improves to 5-9 lifetime in ATP finals and 22-18 on the season.
The Canadian had to do it the hard way in 2023, a year that saw him struggle with a knee injury and be forced to miss time and play in pain.
“A lot of tough times,” he said. “It was a new challenge this year, being away from the court, trying to manage the tournaments through injuries, with pain killers and things like this, and still today actually. I mean, it’s been a tricky year overall, this feels extra special, even more than last year."
Hurkacz’s Turin Hopes Take a Hit
The Pole had a chance to move within 15 points of Rune for the No.8 spot in the Race to Turin standings, but he will enter Paris 215 points behind instead, and need to put up a good performance in the city of light to qualify.
Hurkacz, who faces Sebastian Korda in first-round action at the Paris Masters, drops to 7-2 in ATP finals and 43-22 on the season.
He saved all five break points he faced in a match that featured no breaks of serve, but wasn’t up to the task in the tiebreaks as he dropped to 1-3 against the Canadian.
(June 7, 2012) -- Maria Sharapova returned to No. 1 in the world with a command performance against Petra Kvitova in the semifinals of Roland Garros this afternoon.