Félix Auger-Aliassime was a skinny kid in New York down from Canada nine years ago when he scored some tickets for a night match on Arthur Ashe at Flushing Meadows and saw Andy Murray thrash Feliciano López in the third round on his way to the semi-finals of the US Open.
Now a fully-grown and exciting professional, Auger-Aliassime will have to narrow his wide-eyed wonder a little when he looks across the net at Murray on Thursday in the second round of the 2020 edition of the championships. And, for all his cool, he will hope he has the game to handle the sort of relentless pressure the Scot brought to bear on the bewildered Yoshihito Nishioka over five sets on Tuesday.
Auger-Aliassime, 13 years younger than Murray and 94 places ahead of him in the rankings at 21, had his own fight in the first round, coming through three tie-breaks in four sets in just under four hours against the stubborn Thiago Monteiro. He is prepared for more of the same.
Afterwards, he recalled the first time he saw Murray. “I came once as a spectator to the US Open in 2011,” he said. “I was just a kid. We got tickets for Arthur Ashe Stadium. Andy was playing López in a night match in the third round. That was a big memory of mine. I was live here. It’s crazy to feel today there’s not going to be a kid in the stadium watching, it’s going to be me playing.”
Auger-Aliassime, one of many rising stars who could fill the spaces left in this tournament by the absence of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and others, said of Murray: “He’s a great champion. I’ll be expecting the best from him. I don’t want to put into my head or consider that because of the injuries or because of the surgeries he’s had, the comeback he’s made, that this puts me in an advantage or makes a difference on the outcome of the match.
“I’m going to prepare myself for a battle. We’re all glad to see him back. I watched the whole way of his recovery. It’s an honour for me to face up with a guy like Andy.”
Those were the sentiments of Nishioka before he engaged in a war with the 33-year-old. Like nine players before him in grand slams, he went two sets up – and lost. Murray is the Jake LaMotta of tennis, never knocked off his feet and dangerous to the end.
Murray looked surprisingly fresh and relaxed after an ordeal that lasted four hours and 39 minutes, leaving his big toes bleeding and his body aching for an ice bath. But, as he pointed out, after several operations and years of chronic pain, he had good reason to smile occasionally now. He’s just happy to be back on court. “I’m glad to have that over with, but, physically, I did pretty well for such a long match.”
This is his first slam since losing in five agonising sets to Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round of the Australian Open last year, after which resurfacing surgery on a hip saved his career. He was clearly relieved he felt no pain there after such a thorough examination. His movement was good once he negotiated a worryingly slow start and after saving match point in the fourth set he was hitting the ball with power and consistency at the end, as his 24-year-old opponent wilted.
As for Auger-Aliassime, Murray said: “He hits a big ball. He moves well. I hit with him once only in Beijing last year. He’s getting up to the top of the game. He obviously likes playing on the hard courts.
“He’s had some struggles with his serve at times. That’s something that I’ll look to capitalise on. But he’ll have an excellent career, for sure. He’s been really good since he was very young. Physically, he’s a fantastic mover, good athlete. He’s developed fast.”
If Murray wins he could play Dan Evans – if the British No 1 and No 23 seed can continue his excellent form to get past Corentin Moutet, after dominating Thiago Seyboth Wild in three sets on Tuesday.
