Félix Auger-Aliassime will turn his attention to Roland-Garros after being knocked out in the semifinals of the ATP 500 event in Hamburg on Friday by Andrey Rublev. The Canadian was beaten in a rematch of the 2024 Madrid Final in straight sets.
Having arrived in Hamburg without a win on clay in 2025 and on a five-match losing streak overall, Auger-Aliassime looked far stronger this week, picking up three wins on his way to the semis before running into a dialled-in Rublev. The third seed’s speed and power proved impenetrable for the Canadian as he walked away the winner 6-1, 6-4.
Rublev was the more solid of the two, winning the winner battle 18 to 12 and committing half as many errors with 12 to the Canadian’s 24. He also feasted on Auger-Aliassime's second serve, winning 63 per cent of those points. Rublev defended his own serve well, saving the only break point he faced.
It was a difficult start for the Canadian, as a stroke of bad luck put him in an early hole. In Auger-Aliassime's opening service game at 30-all, a Rublev ball caught the net cord and barely trickled over to set up a break point. Some phenomenal defence from the third seed then drew an error as he broke for a quick 2-0 lead.
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Auger-Aliassime had to dig deep just to stay within touching distance, using some big hitting to save two more break points in his next service game. The Canadian then had a chance to get back on serve in the fifth game when a forehand winner set up a break point, but Rublev swatted it away with a swinging forehand volley winner.
When the Montrealer fell behind 15-40 in the next game, he could not escape. On the second break point, Rublev wore him down and drew an error to go up 5-1. He served out the set in the following game.
The Canadian avoided another slow start in the second set and managed to settle into a groove, matching Rublev big shot for big shot. However, the two-time Masters 1000 winner’s ability to defend and turn defense into offense on a dime prevented Auger-Aliassime from gaining the upper hand.
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Late in the set, Auger-Aliassime found himself in trouble. At 4-4, he had to save a break point with a big serve, but then pulled a forehand wide to give Rublev a second look. The Canadian netted a backhand to surrender the break. While he pushed Rublev to deuce as the third seed served for the match, Auger-Aliassime was unable to conjure up a break-back point.
Auger-Aliassime will now head to Paris where he is one of five Canadians in the singles main draw. He will kick off his campaign against Matteo Arnaldi.
Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak
