One year ago this week, Felix Auger-Aliassime was No. 172 in the ATP Rankings with just one tour-level win to his name. Then 17, the Canadian was still battling his way through the ATP Challenger Tour.

Flash forward to Friday, and the World No. 21 beat top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to become the youngest player in 20 years to reach the semi-finals of the Fever-Tree Championships, putting himself within one victory of cracking the Top 20 for the first time. He can accomplish that feat by defeating former champion Feliciano Lopez on Saturday.

“How do I explain it?” Auger-Aliassime asked. “I think it’s the result of a lot of work behind years and months. I think even last year I was having wins that I’m having this year, like, beating Top 20 players, but I just couldn’t find a way to repeat that over the weeks and in a full tournament.

“I think this year is just the fact that everything added up, all the work that I have done, because I felt like for a year now I have been playing pretty well, but I think this year I just kind of found my rhythm, I just found my beat, and I think I have been on the right track. I haven’t left sight of it. I think that’s how I explain my rapid rise this year.”

Felix is only 18, but he has accomplished plenty in 2019. The #NextGenATP star has made his first three ATP Tour finals, including one at the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro in February. He also advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Miami. There have been few if any signs that Auger-Aliassime is afraid of big moments.

“That’s what I work for. I think I kind of visualise myself — whenever I’m training, whenever I’m working in the gym — I’m visualising myself to be playing these type of matches and winning these type of matches,” Auger-Aliassime said. “So I think when the day comes, I feel prepared, I feel ready, and as well with the experience I have gained over this year and last year with different situations, playing finals now, so obviously that adds also a lot of things and a lot of positive things, because now I feel better. I handle these situations better and I stay more calm. That’s obviously been a big key mentally for me this year.”

Auger-Aliassime has won both of his FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Tsitsipas, last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals champion. The Canadian also triumphed in all three of their singles clashes in the juniors, leading Tsitsipas to say Friday that not only does he believe Felix will win Grand Slam titles, but, “I might never beat him”.

“It’s humbling. I appreciate that from him, especially coming from him, because he’s beaten these players and he’s been playing good against these top players,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I think for me that’s obviously the next challenge with winning, winning tournaments, is to beat players like Rafa, Novak, Zverev, or Nishikori. I think I have been playing well also on clay, but I haven’t found quite the way to beat these guys.”

Not only has Felix earned the respect of fellow players, but he has also impressed some of tennis’ legends. The teen met Boris Becker in Paris while he recovered from a groin injury that kept him out of Roland Garros.

“He just said that I have been doing good work, that he’s following me, and to keep on doing what I was doing and that good things would happen,” Auger-Aliassime remembered. “I think you have to really understand what he says. I think it’s important to know that it’s not something light. It’s something that I think the best players have done, trying to just take all the not important things outside and just focus on really what you have to do every day. I think that’s what made the difference for the top guys.”

Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez will complete their darkness-delayed doubles quarter-final on Saturday at the Fever-Tree Championships. They lead the British pair of Daniel Evans and Ken Skupski 6-4, 4-5.

A forehand volley winner from Lopez on Evans’ serve secured a break at 3-3 in the first set and they rode that momentum to the early advantage. Evans responded in the second set with a glorious return winner on Murray’s serve to give the British duo a 3-1 lead.

But with Evans serving for the second set at 5-3, 40/30, Murray erased the first set point with a vintage forehand topspin lob winner. A backhand winner from Lopez on deciding point brought the set back on serve before the match was called for the evening.

Earlier in the day, Evans and Skupski won their first-round match over #NextGenATP duo Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-5.

The three other semi-final spots have been locked in. Fourth seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan defeated Roland Garros finalists Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin 6-3, 7-6(6). They’ll take on Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who upset second seeds Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares 6-4, 6-4.

Third seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers took out Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 7-5, 7-6(6). Jamie was seeking his 400th ATP Tour doubles match win. Kontinen/Peers await the winner of Lopez/Murray and Evans/Skupski.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has had an answer to nearly every question asked of him during his ascent up the ATP Rankings. But the #NextGenATP Greek star has struggled to solve one puzzle: Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The 18-year-old Canadian defeated Tsitsipas for the second time this year on Friday at the Fever-Tree Championships to reach the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament. This is a budding FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry that fans can follow for years to come, but Auger-Aliassime has had the clear edge.

“It does worry me. It’s upsetting obviously that he’s better than me. I have to accept that he’s better than me. I might never beat him, but if I think that way, just need to wait, years maybe, for that chance to come,” Tsitsipas said. “If not, then not. If yes, then fantastic. I’ll donate, I don’t know, 10,000 for that win to a charity.”

Not only did Auger-Aliassime beat the Greek star at Indian Wells in March, but he also won their three ITF junior circuit meetings.

“I only beat him in doubles,” Tsitsipas said. “He has the whole package to play big. I’m sure if he ever gets the difficult chance to play Nadal, Djokovic, or Federer, he’s going to beat them, for sure. I will not be surprised if he gets wins over those guys.

“We will definitely see him in the Top 5. Maybe not this year, but next year or the year after.”

The biggest difference in their battles has been Auger-Aliassime’s performance when his serve has been under pressure. The teen faced seven break points in each of their matches this year, and has saved them all. Tsitsipas joked about how his lack of conversions against Felix could put him in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“It is very difficult, because he has one of the best returns on the tour. He has a really powerful, accurate serve, which is tough to read. He’s really quick and fast, which is rare to find all of those together, combined. Big forehand, big backhand. He can create a lot of opportunities from his backhand, but also, at the same time, he can be very aggressive from the forehand side,” Tsitsipas said. “There’s not much to come up with when you play against him. He’s pretty much solid from everywhere.”

Tsitsipas, who won last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, is only 20 himself, and he is at a career-high No. 6 in the ATP Rankings. Although he fell in the quarter-finals at The Queen’s Club, there were positives to take from winning his first two grass-court matches of the year after an opening loss in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last week.

“Happy with the way I played. Did a lot of things. I can take a lot of things from that and move on,” Tsitsipas said. “I gained some experience and some understanding of the game on grass.”

David Goffin entered the week with just a 14-14 record on the season. But if his courageous victory on Friday against second seed Alexander Zverev showed anything, it’s that the Belgian is moving closer to the form that saw him reach the championship match of the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals.

Goffin, who let slip two match points at 5-4 in the third set, stayed the course to beat Zverev 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(3) and reach the semi-finals of the NOVENTI OPEN. The World No. 33 saved seven of the 10 break points he faced en route to his first Top 10 victory of the year.

It appeared Zverev might use the confidence he gained from triumphing in Geneva, making the Roland Garros quarter-finals and previously advancing to two Halle finals to survive his battle against Goffin. He struck a big serve and a deep forehand approach shot to save the two match points he faced on his serve at 4-5.

But Goffin was unrelenting, winning all five of his service points in the tie-break to put even more pressure on Zverev. And after two hours and 16 minutes, when Zverev pushed a final backhand slice into the net, the Belgian moved on.

Goffin’s best previous performance in two Halle appearances came in 2016, when he made the quarter-finals. But the four-time ATP Tour champion is now one victory from reaching his second tour-level grass-court championship match (2015 ’s-Hertogenbosch).

It won’t be easy against the in-form Matteo Berrettini, who now holds an eight-match winning streak. The Italian defeated third seed Karen Khachanov 6-2, 7-6(4).

Berrettini has beaten Khachanov twice during his winning streak, claiming all four sets in those matches. On Friday, the Italian won 85 per cent of his first-serve points and saved all four break points he faced.

Before beginning his run at the MercedesCup last week, Berrettini had won just two tour-level grass-court matches. He is pursuing his third ATP Tour title of the year, and his first at the ATP 500-level. This will be his first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Goffin.

Did You Know?
The Top 4 seeds reached the Halle quarter-finals for the first time since 2015, and for just the second time in tournament history, since 1993.