At age 25, Felix Auger-Aliassime had a chance to win the French Open at Roland Garros.
A relatively easy draw. No Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic, Shelton or Medvedev in the way. Zverev on the other side of the draw, with a history of losing in finals. Mensik, Fonseca and Jodar still too young.
Thanks to a cold wind, Roland Garros closed the roof, giving FAA a quarter-final indoors, his favourite surface. But he couldn’t get past Flavio Coboli and his own demons in Paris.
The Italian, seeded 10th, was much more agile and comfortable than FAA on clay. Coboli played the way that Toni Nadal wanted FAA to play. He ran around backhands to hit massive topspin forehands even from steps beyond the doubles alley. He ruthlessly exploited FAA’s shaky backhand, which used to be his favourite side before Toni Nadal changed his game.
FAA failed to adjust his positioning to deal with topspin balls bouncing high off the clay. His flat backhand couldn’t find the range. Coboli also stretched him out wide with vicious kick serves in the ad court.
Coboli played well enough to beat anyone left in the tournament. FAA didn’t play badly. He hit more than 70 percent of his first serves. But he couldn’t convert several break points in the decisive third set. He also blew a lead (up a set and 3-1 in the second) which has been his pattern in Paris and other cities since blowing a lead and losing the Roland Garros junior final in 2016.
Will FAA ever win a grand slam? This might have been his best chance with Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune and others struggling with injuries or exhaustion. He has recently outperformed Tsitsipas, Shapovalov and others of his generation. But he doesn’t seem to have the combative edge and weapons of the new generation of teenagers growing up fast at Roland Garros this fortnight.
Players such as Coboli know that they can breakdown FAA’s backhand and also his forehand out wide. They know that he tends to blow leads and wobble under pressure. If he stays healthy and hungry, FAA still has time to strengthen his weaknesses. But he might also wonder if the game, and the field, is passing him by.
words and images copyright Christopher Johnson Globalite Media all rights reserved
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