Felix Auger-Aliassime is one of the dominant forces on the ATP Tour, known for his aggressive baseline play and bullet-like serves. He has climbed up the rankings significantly following a breakthrough 2025 season, and is comfortably seated inside the top ten. However, the Canadian’s path to the top is blocked by two of the best players in the world, World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and World No. 2 Jannik Sinner.
In a recent interview, Auger-Aliassime talked about their gameplay while making his position clear in men’s professional tennis.
Felix Auger-Aliassime Talks About Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s ATP Dominance
Auger-Aliassime is currently competing in Dubai, where he defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 7-6(2) in the quarterfinals on Thursday to secure a spot in the final four. So far, he has yet to drop a single set, taking on Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 7-6(4) and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4. He entered the tournament as the top seed and will face the third seed, Daniil Medvedev, in the semifinal tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 27.
Following his QF win, the Canadian talked about the continuous dominance by different players on the men’s side. He spoke about Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer as the two men he grew up watching as a child, saying, “When I came on tour, obviously, Novak was dominating. He had been dominating the Grand Slams and everything on tour for the last 10 years or so. And then obviously Roger growing up was a big inspiration.”
He then assessed the Swiss Champion’s playstyle, saying, “But Roger is tough to replicate, he’s so unique, the way he plays is just, yeah, we all dream of playing like him, but it’s almost impossible.”
This level of admiration for the 20-time Grand Slam Champion shows just how much respect the Canadian has for him.
He then shifted his focus back to the Serbian legend, who, according to Auger-Aliassime, has had an unbelievable progression. “But Novak, to see his progression as a player and to have studied him from a kid on, it’s unbelievable. So that’s kind of the standard that I think everyone, when I came on tour, he was the guy, he was the standard,” he said.
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He then talked about the current scenario, where the duopoly of Alcaraz and Sinner, known as SinCaraz, is ruling men’s professional tennis. He called the Spaniard a “freak,” while acknowledging the Italian’s great playstyle.
However, while praising the top two players, he made his position clear, stating, “Now we have the freak of Carlos Alcaraz, and obviously, Jannik Sinner is a great player. So these guys are also obviously paving the way, but I’m right there, and I try to also put up some great standards.”
This shows that, despite acknowledging the greatness of the Spaniard-Italian duo, the Canadian believes that he is also one of the favorites, capable of delivering strong performances.
Auger-Aliassime’s Rise in 2025 and His 2026 Season So Far
The Canadian enjoyed one of the best years of his career in 2025, marked by three titles and regular deep runs at multiple tournaments. He delivered some magnificent performances on the hard courts, boasting a 41-15 record on the surface and a 50-24 win-loss record across 74 matches.
He started the season incredibly, winning the Adelaide International title against Sebastian Korda. After a second-round exit at the Australian Open, he lifted another title in Montpellier against American Aleksandar Kovacevic. Auger-Aliassime then made multiple deep runs, including the runner-up finish in Dubai, losing to the fourth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas.
He then had to delay his wedding as he reached the semifinals of the US Open, where he lost in four sets against Sinner. In Brussels, he lifted the title after defeating Jiri Lehecka in the finals and secured a spot in the ATP Finals.
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Auger-Aliassime then reached the semifinals in Turin, losing in straight sets to Alcaraz, and ended the season with a career-high ranking of World No. 5. Unfortunately, he had to retire from his first-round match in Melbourne this year due to severe cramping in his upper left leg after trailing 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 0-0.
He then went to France and successfully defended his ATP 250 title, defeating Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-6(4) in the championship match.
At Rotterdam, he lost to Australian Alex de Minaur in straight sets in the final, marking another deep run before coming to Dubai, where he will compete in the semifinal against Medvedev.
