How Felix Auger-Aliassime went back to back in Basel | ATP Tour

Tournament Feature

Felix on fire! How Auger-Aliassime went back to back in Basel

Relive the Canadian star’s 2022 and 2023 title runs at ATP 500

October 22, 2024

Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has won the past two editions of the Swiss Indoors Basel, will this year try to become just the second player in tournament history to win the ATP 500 trophy three times in a row after Roger Federer (2006-08 and 2017-19).

The Swiss event is a happy hunting ground for Auger-Aliassime, who has won two of his five ATP Tour titles there. Ahead of the 2024 edition of the indoor hard-court tournament, ATP Tour.com reflects on his title runs in 2022 and 2023.

2022: Flying Felix hits a late-season hat-trick
Enjoying the best season of his career, Auger-Aliassime arrived at the 2022 Swiss Indoors Basel full of confidence from his back-to-back title runs in Florence and Antwerp. He dropped only one set en route to the trophy at each of those indoor ATP 250 tournaments.

The Canadian then pulled off a similarly dominant run at ATP 500 level in Basel, where he dropped his only set of the tournament in his opening-round match against Marc-Andrea Huesler. After next easing past Miomir Kecmanovic and Alexander Bublik, Auger-Aliassime set a semi-final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.

Continuing his red-hot form, Auger-Aliassime lost only five games to the then-World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, who had just won his first major title at the US Open. It was his third consecutive Lexus ATP Head2Head victory against Alcaraz.

In the final, Auger-Aliassime toppled another in-form rival in Holger Rune, who had lifted an ATP 250 trophy in Stockholm the previous week. Yet the Canadian did not flinch en route to a 6-3, 7-5 triumph that earned him his third-consecutive trophy and the joint-biggest title of his career.

“It’s been an amazing week,” said Auger-Aliassime after the match. “Once again in the final, not getting broken all week… [It’s been] a long year, a long stretch of wins, and it’s not over. So hopefully I can keep going, but right now I’m feeling all the good emotions that come with winning a tournament. It’s amazing.”

It was Auger-Aliassime’s 13th consecutive tour-level win, a streak that he extended to 16 with a semi-final run at the Rolex Paris Masters. His late-season surge helped him qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time in his career, and he later capped off his stellar 2022 season by leading Canada to its maiden Davis Cup title.

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2023: Back on form in Basel
Auger-Aliassime arrived in Basel in 2023 hoping to shake off a disappointing season plagued by injuries and struggles for his best form. He entered the tournament with a 17-18 win-loss record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and just one semi-final showing for the season (Doha).

Yet once again the Canadian found his form in Switzerland. Dialled in all week, he dropped only one set, against Alexander Shevchenko in the quarter-finals. In a rematch of the previous year’s final, Auger-Aliassime defeated Rune in the semi-finals, and he then downed Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(3), 7-6(5) in the championship match to successfully defend his Basel title.

With the win, Auger-Aliassime clinched his fifth tour-level title and became the first Canadian to successfully defend an ATP Tour crown since Milos Raonic won the San Jose title in 2011 and 2012.

“I’m definitely back. I let my racquet talk. That’s always been the motto of my career. I’ve had the conviction that I can be a top player since I’m a kid, but there were many doubts this year about my performances and why,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview. “I’m happy that I was able to prove to everybody that I still belong among the best players in the world, that I can play this level. I never doubted it, but it’s good to confirm it on the court.”