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 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.
“Right now I’m looking at this like a wasted opportunity,” said de Minaur. “It’s tough.”
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.
Sinner beat No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the first all-Italian matchup in a men’s major quarterfinal. He is into his fifth straight Grand Slam semifinal. In the women's quarterfinals, Amanda Anisimova upset Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-3 in a rematch of the Wimbledon final won by Swiatek 6-0, 6-0 less than two months ago. Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka beat Karolina Muchova 6-4, 7-6 (3) at night to remain unbeaten when she reaches the quarterfinal stage of a major tournament.
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. ___
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