(September 1, 2025) FLUSHING, NY – Felix Auger-Aliassime is busy preparing for a wedding, but right now he’s winning matches at the US Open. The Canadian, seeded 25, notched just his second win over Russia’s Andrey Rublev, the 15th seed 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday. The victory on the back of the upset over the third seed Alexander Zverev in the third round, sets him up the quarterfinals. He’ll play No. 8 Alex De Minaur for a chance to reach the semifinals. It’s his first quarterfinal since 2021. The Australian, de Minaur rolled past qualifier Leandro Riedi 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. Auger-Alliassime leads their head-to-head 2-1.
“Good win considering our head-to-head, considering, you know, how good he is as a player,” Said the Canadian. “Then waking up this morning, I knew I played a great match last time, but you know, you hope he doesn’t play too good and that I can execute my game well.”
“But I think once I settled into the match and I kind of, like, got back — I was down 4-2 for one and then got back to 4-All — I felt like, okay, I settled in and I felt much better about my chances. From that moment on I felt like I was putting a lot of pressure on him.
“Then as I won the first set, I felt like I was in control of the match.”
On playing De Minaur next:
“Well, his strengths were always his movement and a quality to keep the ball in play and to kind of like counter, you know, like let’s say the speed that the other player will play at and, yeah, to just defend. But what’s been very interesting is that he’s added also stepping into the court a lot more. I think that’s why he’s in the position he’s in today.
“He now has, like, very much the ability to step in as soon as you give him a chance, you know, and to come early in the court and to punish you. That’s why his game is even more complete than how it was in the past.
“I think every player tries to improve, you know, and we all know in the locker room, like, the strengths of players and what they need to improve. The question is, can you improve, right? He has, and that’s why he’s been consistently now in the top 10 for a bit of time.”
“Happy with the performance, said de Minaur. “Could have been a dangerous matchup the way he’s been playing with a lot of confidence. I knew that going in. I’m very happy with the way I kind of went about my business.”
“I stayed focused I knew I had a job to get done, and I’m happy that I was able to get through in straight sets.
On playing the Canadian:
“I think Felix is that type of player that everyone knows that his top level is incredibly high, and when he’s playing with confidence, he’s very tough to beat. This week he’s obviously playing some incredible tennis, and he’s got a lot of weapons.
“He’s got a great serve. He’s got a great forehand. He looks to dictate whenever he can. In that matchup for me it’s all about trying to disrupt his rhythm, not give him the chance to bully me on the court.
“I do my best to counter and dictate whenever I can, and ultimately, I know what I’m getting myself into. He’s got moments on the court where he’s unbeatable, and then there’s moments that he’ll give you a couple of errors, right? For me it’s about weathering the storm.
“I’m giving myself a chance at playing for a quarterfinal, right? These are the matches I want to be playing in. For me it’s about going for it, going for the opportunity, and I’m very excited for it.”
More to follow…
