Félix Auger-Aliassime is one step closer to Oympic gold in Paris.
Coming off an upset victory against Daniel Medvedev on Wednesday, the 23-year-old Canadian was back on the clay court of Roland Garros on Thursday for the quarterfinal.
Going head to head with Norway’s Caasper Ruud (No. 9 on ATP rankings), Auger-Aliassime was once again the underdog in the Olympic matchup. But he sure didn’t show it.
The first set was tight, but the 19th seed claimed it by a 6-4 score. The Montreal native hit his stride early in the second, but Ruud maintained his composure, winning it in a lengthy tiebreak necessary.
He ultimately sealed the deal in the third and final set (6-3), logging 14 aces in the match
Having secured a place in the fourth round, Auger-Aliassime could potentially earn Canada’s first-ever singles tennis medal at the Summer Games.
Canada’s sole Olympic tennis medal was achieved by Sébastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor, who won the men’s doubles event at the 2000 Sydney Games, defeating the heavily favored Australian team.
Unfortunately, he won’t be granted much recovery time as he and mixed doubles partner Gaby Dabrowski play Americans Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon.
Auger-Aliassime will face No. 2 seed Carlos Alacaraz in the semifinal on Friday