Felix Auger-Aliassime left the US Open with pride and perspective after a 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 semifinal defeat to defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday, saying only time will tell if he can return to the sport’s summit after an inspired fortnight in New York.
The 25th seed delivered his best tennis in years, showing renewed conviction with victories over world No 3 Alexander Zverev, 15th seed Andrey Rublev, and eighth seed Alex de Minaur en route to his first Grand Slam semifinal since 2021.
After a gutsy performance that pushed Sinner to four sets, the Italian world No 1 ultimately proved too strong. Yet the Canadian said he would carry plenty of positives forward from Flushing Meadows.
"I just want to take a moment to soak in the tournament and everything that was good," Auger-Aliassime told reporters.
"You obviously build your future with what's good in you, and then you try to improve a little bit, step by step. So I'm just trying to take that all in.
"We were fighting out there. We had some good points. I was going toe to toe at times, some sets dominating. Of course, I feel competitive, but the future will tell how close I am" to Sinner's level.
Despite converting only one of his 10 break points during the match, Auger-Aliassime said he has "no regrets", while he is proud of having stuck to his aggressive playing style.
"I can explain all of (the missed break points) to you, but it's over," he said. "I don't have regrets. I played my way. I played my game. You know, you kind of live and die with your choices."