Canadian tennis phenom Felix Auger-Aliassime will play in the opening round of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday in New York.
Auger-Aliassime had gotten off to a phenomenal start to the 2020 ATP campaign prior to the suspension of play.
The 20-year-old made it to the finals of consecutive ATP events in Rotterdam and Marseilles in February, and will look to recapture some of the momentum he had coming out of a long hiatus.
Auger-Aliassime's ascension has been very impressive. He ranked as high as the 130s in singles early in 2019, but has since climbed all the way to No. 20 in the world. He is the second-highest ranked Canadian player, behind only Denis Shapovalov.
One of the more intriguing aspects of this year's Western & Southern Open is it is being played at Flushing Meadows, the exact same site as the U.S. Open, which is slated to being a week from Monday.
Felix Auger-Aliassime said he is excited to get back to business, though playing without fans will be out of the ordinary (via Julian McKenzie of the Canadian Press):
Auger-Aliassime anticipates a challenge in playing matches without fans. The U.S. Open announced in June it would not allow spectators. While he thinks the issue won't be that apparent on smaller courts, he feels it might be an adjustment on more prominent courts.
“When I look at the big stadiums and I practise on them, you feel like that's what it's going to look like when you play a tournament. It's a weird feeling.” he said.
Canadian fans are hoping their young star can continue to build momentum leading into the first Grand Slam of the year.
Felix Auger-Aliassime will get his season restarted against Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia on Saturday in Flushing.
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