On Thursday afternoon, despite giving it absolutely all he had, Félix Auger-Aliassime fell to sixth seed Karen Khachanov of Russia in the third round of Rogers Cup presented by National Bank.
The Quebecer would no doubt have preferred celebrating his 19th birthday with a win on Centre Court in front of his biggest fans, but Khachanov decided otherwise and pocketed a three-set victory (6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-3) in just under three hours of bold combat.
Auger-Aliassime got things off to a great start and produced some spectacular shots in the first-set tiebreaker but his serve quickly let him down. Like his opponent, he hit 11 aces but also made 12 double faults (versus 3 for Khachanov) at crucial moments.
In the battle for breaks, the Canadian gave up seven. Khachanov let only five go and now faces Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
Navigating a series of drops and bursts of energy, Auger-Aliassime hit 53% of his first serves in—a statistic far too low to overpower a member of the Top 10. Khachanov earned 111 points versus 103 for the hometown hero, who came so, so close.
