By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, January 15, 2024
Felix Auger-Aliassime fought off Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 5-7, 6-3 in an epic five-hour triumph in the Australian Open first round.
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty
Major marathon heartbreakers have haunted Felix Auger-Alissime in the past.
Seeing a two-set lead slip from his grip against Dominic Thiem tonight, the Canadian was facing the prospect of a fifth straight Grand Slam loss.
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Auger-Aliassime was in no mood for pity parties at the Happy Slam.
Rising up, Auger-Aliassime fought off a tremendous Thiem comeback 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 5-7, 6-3 in an epic five-hour triumph in the Australian Open first round.
It is Auger-Aliassime's first major match victory since he beat 29th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo in the 2023 AO third round last January.
"A lot of relief," Auger-Aliassime said afterward. "It's crazy these matches you go through all the emotions. It was a great level, great match.
"I started well and then it's the sport, you know, sometimes it sucks. You're trying your best and then he also played well. He served well and it was a struggle for me.
"At the end I didn't want to fail mentally. I didn't want to disappoint myself with my effort. I didn't want to have any regrets leaving this court today...I thought you need to be tough, you need to stay strong. And I'm happy I did because now I'm really happy."
The 30th-ranked Canadian had failed to survive the first hurdle in four of his last six Grand Slam appearances, which makes this epic save even more satisfying. Then there's the excruciating five-set losses Auger-Aliassime suffered in past Melbourne appearances, including a five-set defeat to Aslan Karatsev in the 2021 fourth round and a marathon 2022 quarterfinal loss to Daniil Medvedev in which the Canadian held match points.
The 23-year-old Auger-Aliassime improved his five-set record to 6-3, while Thiem dropped to 11-12 in career five-setters.
No. 27-seeded Auger-Aliassime will play 179th-ranked French qualifier Hugo Grenier in round two with the winner potentially facing Medvedev in the third round.
This was an adventurous shotmakers showdown that saw Thiem fight all the way back to level.
The 2020 US Open champion had double break point in the opening game of the decider. Auger-Aliassime answered with a strong six-point run that sparked a turnaround.
Auger-Aliassime held then immediately broke to go up 2-0 in the decider.
Serving for the second round after a sweaty struggle, Auger-Aliassime's forehand was the difference in the end.
The Canadian cranked successive diagonal forehands to go up 30-15. Thiem hit a deep return but pasted a crosscourt forehand into the middle of the net handing Auger-Aliassime two match points.
Dancing around his backhand, Auger-Aliassime drilled one final forehand winner down the line finally sealing a much-needed major match win.