Felix Auger-Aliassime — the highest-ranked Canadian men's player in the Australian Open after Denis Shapovalov's early exit — was eliminated on Tuesday from the 2020 Australian Open when he lost to qualifier Ernest Gulbis, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(4), 4-6.
Auger-Aliassime's short run in Melbourne came in his first time playing in the main draw of the tournament in his career. The 19-year-old couldn't find his way past Gulbis, who ultimately won to advance to the second round after four sets and a three-hour, 35-minute long match at 1573 Arena.
Seven double faults and 44 unforced errors throughout Auger-Aliassime's match paved the way for his exit; while the Montreal, Que., native won a close second set, it wasn't enough to provide a comeback against Latvia's Gulbis.
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Gulbis' entrance to the tournament as a qualifier and No. 256 world ranking makes his win over Auger-Aliassime an upset, but Auger-Aliassime told the ATP Tour after the match he's staying positive and doesn't think he played poorly in Tuesday's match.
“My game was really coming along well in Adelaide and I lost a close one there," he told reporters, referring to his semifinal run at the Adelaide Invitational earlier this month. "I don’t want to lose too much belief over the results of these first few tournaments. I’ll keep my head up and keep doing what I’m doing well and we’ll see what happens next.”
Shapovalov, one of Canada's other top young stars in the men's game, was upset on Sunday by Marton Fucsovics. Vasek Pospisil and Leylah Annie Fernandez were also eliminated from Aussie Open competition on Tuesday, leaving Milos Raonic the only remaining Canadian in the singles tournament.
Auger-Aliassime told reporters that, while such an early exit at a Grand Slam is disappointing, he is still positive about what this season holds for him.
“I felt like my game was coming along well," he said. "I felt like I was playing well, a lot different to the past US Open. It’s night and day. I have to talk with my coaches to look in detail at what happened. But I think I’m not far away from playing well.”