In 2001, 19-year-old Roger Federer reached the final in Rotterdam, beating Andrew Ilie, Sébastien Grosjean, Alex Corretja and Andrei Pavel before losing in the final to Nicolas Escude. Roger remained the youngest finalist in Rotterdam until last year, when Felix Auger-Aliassime broke his record for around nine days.
Roger and Felix share a common birthday. The Canadian overtook the Swiss thanks to the Rotterdam event which took place before 2001, securing a place in his fourth ATP final. Auger-Aliassime defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round and reached the quarter-finals against Grigor Dimitrov.
The Canadian defeated Aljaz Bedene to advance to the quarterfinals against Pablo Carreño Busta. The youngster beat the Spaniard 7-6, 6-4 in one hour and 49 minutes to become the youngest player to have made four ATP Finals since Rafael Nadal!
Auger-Aliassime threw 16 aces and fended off all four break opportunities he encountered, dominating with his first serve and battling on the second, but not enough to give the Spaniard room on the return. Carreño Busta fought well to save four of the five break points, losing the advantage in the tie-break of the first set and in the opening games of the second set to Félix.
The more experienced player had a better pace in the first set, navigating through all six serves and creating two break opportunities at 5-5 which Auger-Aliassime fought off with two winners. The Canadian shot three straight winners at 4-2 in the tie-break, which allowed him to revive before the second set.
There, Pablo scored a setback in Game 3, and it was the break Felix needed to recover.
Macci on the GOAT debate
The eternal debate about the greatest male tennis player of all time rages on. Everyone has their own favorite between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and will defend their choice to the death.
However, in a recent interview with former Venus and Serena Williams trainer Rick Macci, we got an expert opinion on the subject. Rick said, “Everyone loves Federer because of the way he plays, so graceful and artistic and things like that.
We judge by how many Slams you win, you can’t argue with Djokovic. Because of its consistency and its maintenance at the top of the ladder, there are very few obstacles to overcome ”. The coach said the situation would be clearer in a few years, as all three players are still active.
Further, Macci continued, “It looks like Novak is the best player right now, but Federer might be the best player in my opinion, but Novak could still be the greatest, but neither should Rafa be ruled out. “.
–
