NEW YORK (AP) — Felix Auger-Aliassime got past Alex de Minaur 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5, 7-6 (4) at the U.S. Open across 4 hours, 10 minutes on Wednesday to reach his second Grand Slam semifinal — and second at Flushing Meadows.
The No. 25-seeded Auger-Aliassime’s only other trip to the final four at a major came in New York in 2021 at age 21.
“Four years ago. It feels like more,” said Auger-Aliassime, who advanced back then when Carlos Alcaraz stopped playing in the quarterfinals with an injured leg muscle. “It was a tough couple of years.”
Auger-Aliassime, who is Canadian, will meet No. 1 Jannik Sinner or No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti on Friday for a berth in the championship match. No. 2 Alcaraz faces No. 7 Novak Djokovic in the other semifinal.
“It’s not over. There’s still some tennis to play and the biggest challenges are yet to come,” Auger-Aliassime said. “That’s what I live for. That’s what I train for.”
He hit 22 aces and finished with a total of 51 winners to the 29 for de Minaur, who dropped to 0-6 for his career in Grand Slam quarterfinals.
Auger-Aliassime was one point from trailing two sets to none when de Minaur led 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker. But Auger-Aliassime erased that set point with a 120 mph ace. That began a run in which he grabbed four of five points to even the contest at a set apiece.
“Just a lot of nerves today, during the whole match. It wasn’t pretty at all times,” Auger-Aliassime said during his on-court interview in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I was willing to dig really deep and do everything I can to stand here, right now.”
This is the first time Auger-Aliassime has eliminated three seeded players during a single major, adding this victory over No. 8 de Minaur to wins against No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the third round and No. 15 Andrey Rublev in the fourth.
What else happened at the US Open on Wednesday?
The women’s quarterfinal matchups included Iga Swiatek against Amanda Anisimova in a rematch of the Wimbledon final won by Swiatek 6-0, 6-0, and Naomi Osaka against Karolina Muchova.
Who plays at the US Open on Thursday?
The women’s semifinals are scheduled at night, including defending champion Aryna Sabalenka against Jessica Pegula. That’s a repeat from the final at Flushing Meadows last year, when Sabalenka was a 7-5, 7-5 winner. ___
More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
