Felix Auger-Aliassime’s dream of defeating his tennis idol came true on Tuesday.
After a loss to Norway’s Casper Ruud to open his first appearance at the season-ending ATP Finals, Auger-Aliassime regained his scorching end-of-season form with a 6-3, 6-4 win over top-seeded Rafael Nadal in round-robin play.
“I wasn’t sure If I would be here one day or if I could only dream of it,” Auger-Aliassime said of defeating the Spanish legend for the first time.
“The age difference is huge, and it proves what a champion he is and what an example because he is still here at 36, battling against guys in their young 20s. He is a great champion and has a great attitude.”
Auger-Aliassime, seeded fifth in the season-ending men’s championship, used his dominant serve to wear down Nadal.
The 22-year-old Canadian was good on 81 per cent of his first serve points and fired 15 aces, including one on his first point to set the tone.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime downs top seed in straight sets:
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime (1-1) beat Spain’s Rafael Nadal (0-2) 6-3, 6-4 to earn his first win at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Auger-Aliassime took advantage of some uncharacteristically loose play by Nadal to score a break in Game 8 of the first set. Leading 40-love, Nadal committed two consecutive double faults to give Auger-Aliassime a lifeline.
Nadal recovered to take advantage after Auger-Aliassime tied the game at 40-all, but the Canadian took three straight crucial points to open up a 5-3 first-set lead. Serving for the set, Auger-Aliassime held with little trouble to go up 1-0.
Auger-Aliassime put the pressure on Nadal early in the second set, scoring a break to go up 2-1. The two traded holds for the rest of the match, with Auger-Aliassime winning on his first match point on serve when Nadal sent a return into the net.
The win evens Auger-Aliassime’s round-robin record to 1-1 after the Canadian dropped Sunday’s opener 7-6 (4), 6-4 to Ruud.
Nadal, meanwhile, falls to 0-2 with one match remaining in pool play.
‘I will be ready for Taylor in 2 days’
Auger-Aliassime will next meet eighth-seeded American Taylor Fritz, who was set to meet Rudd later Tuesday.
Nadal will be eliminated from the event if Fritz falls to the 23-year-old Norwegian.
“I’m one win, one loss now. If I can get two wins, hopefully I can get through, so let’s see how it goes,” Auger-Aliassime said. “They will play it out tonight and I will be ready for Taylor in two days. It won’t be easy. He has been playing really good this year and these conditions are perfect for him.”
It was the Montreal native’s first career win over the 22-time Grand Slam champion. Nadal had beaten Auger-Aliassime twice previously, including a gruelling five-set decision at the French Open in May.
Auger-Aliassime earned his way to Turin with an impressive 16-match win streak, winning three of the final four ATP Tour events of the year.
It is special to play Rafa with Toni here, but at the same time we are competitors.— Auger-Aliassime on his coach Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and ex-coach
He captured titles in Florence, Antwerp and Basel during that run and earlier in the season won in Rotterdam.
Auger-Aliassime earned a personal-best 56 wins this season, lifting him up to a career-high No. 6 world ranking.
The Canadian credited his coach Toni Nadal, the uncle and ex-coach of Rafael Nadal, for his recent success.
“He has been a great help to me. I have a ton of respect for him and his family. It is special to play Rafa with Toni here, but at the same time we are competitors, and we try our best,” said Auger-Aliassime.
Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., is the only other Canadian to ever qualify for the ATP Tour World Finals, having played in the event in 2014 and 2016. Raonic lost in the semifinals in 2016 and lost both of his matches in 2014.
Djokovic visa ban overturned?
Meanwhile, a year after Novak Djokovic’s high-profile deportation from Australia because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, the 21-time Grand Slam champion is set to be granted a visa to enter the country so he can compete at the Australian Open in January.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said Tuesday it had confirmed newspaper reports that the immigration minister would put aside a potential three-year ban from entry that Djokovic, a 35-year-old from Serbia, had faced as a foreign citizen whose visa was revoked.
The Australian Border Force previously explained that exclusion period could be waived in certain circumstances — and that each case would be assessed on its merits.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’ office declined to comment on privacy grounds.
Djokovic’s representatives did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment. He currently is participating in the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, where he won his opening match Monday against Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-6 (4) and is next scheduled to play — and speak to the media — on Wednesday against Andrey Rublev.
After Monday’s victory, Djokovic indicated that his lawyers were in touch with the Australian government with an eye to him being able to contest the Australian Open, which runs from Jan. 16-29.
The nine-time Australian Open champion was not allowed to seek a 10th title at Melbourne Park after a tumultuous 10-day legal saga early this year over his COVID-19 vaccination status that culminated with his visa being taken away on the eve of the tournament.
Djokovic arrived at Melbourne Airport as the world’s top-ranked tennis player with a visa he’d obtained online and what he believed to be a valid medical exemption to the country’s strict laws for unvaccinated travelers because it was endorsed by Tennis Australia and the government of Victoria state, which hosts the tournament.
Confusion reigned, generating global headlines. As it transpired, that medical exemption allowed him entry to the tournament, which required all players, fans and officials to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, but not necessarily to enter the country. It was rejected by the Australian Border Force.
Alex Hawke, Australia’s immigration minister at the time, used discretionary powers to cancel Djokovic’s visa on character grounds, stating he was a “talisman of a community of anti-vaccine sentiment.”
Australia has had a change of government since and changed its border rules this year. Since July, incoming travellers no longer have to provide proof of receiving shots against COVID-19. That removed the major barrier to entry for Djokovic, who says he has not been — and will not be — vaccinated against the coronavirus, even if it means he misses important tennis tournaments.
Indeed, he sat out the U.S. Open in September, and other events in the United States, because he could not fly into the country as an unvaccinated foreign citizen. He was allowed to play in the French Open, where he lost in the quarterfinals, and at Wimbledon, which he won.
“I don’t have any regrets. I mean, I do feel sad that I wasn’t able to play [at the U.S. Open], but that was a decision that I made and I knew what the consequences would be,” Djokovic said in September at the Laver Cup in London. “So I accepted them and that’s it.”
Djokovic has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings than anyone else, breaking Roger Federer’s record, and is No. 8 at the moment, in part because of a lack of activity and in part because there were no ranking points awarded to anyone at Wimbledon this year.
Australia’s changes allowed Djokovic to apply to Giles to reconsider his visa status. In Djokovic’s favour were two other factors: He left Australia quickly after his visa was revoked 10 months ago, and he has not publicly criticized Australian authorities.
As the Department of Home Affairs website explains, applicants in Djokovic’s circumstances must explain in writing why the exclusion period should be put aside, saying, “You must show us that there are compassionate or compelling circumstances to put aside your re-entry ban and grant you the visa.”
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
