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ATP Masters National Bank Open

Felix Auger-Aliassime Reflects on Tough Opening Loss at Canadian Masters

Felix Auger-Aliassime reflects on a tough Canadian Masters loss and the challenges ahead.

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Felix Auger-Aliassime described his opening-round defeat at the Canadian Masters as “painful” and is now focused on identifying the factors behind his loss. The world No. 28 fell 6-4, 6-4 to world No. 56 Fabio Marozsan, failing to convert a 4-1 lead in the first set. This marks Auger-Aliassime’s third loss in his last four matches.

“It’s been a mix of things we both did, I mean, I don’t play alone out there,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It’s not like I’m shooting hoops with my coach, there’s always an opponent trying to win, and this time, he did better than me, especially dealing with the conditions.”

He pointed to the challenging windy conditions as a significant factor. “Obviously, you all know it was very windy, which caused me not to serve well, leading to getting broken. Surely, he coped much better than me with all those aspects. It’s frustrating because I arrived early in Toronto precisely to adapt to those conditions, probably had more hours of preparation than any other player, never crossed my mind something like this.”

Auger-Aliassime acknowledged the uncontrollable nature of weather but emphasized it was the same for all players: “The wind is something you can’t control, but it’s the same for everyone. There’s no point complaining now about the conditions in Toronto.”

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After a strong start to 2025, which included titles in Adelaide and Occitanie and a final appearance at the ATP 500 in Dubai, his clay season has been disappointing. He won just three matches on clay and lost in the first round in six out of seven tournaments.

“Losing a match is always painful, but losing here at home, in Canada, is much more disappointing,” he reflected. “Here you feel like you want to play as many matches as possible, so losing in the opening match is always tough, very tough.”

“Obviously, I’ve been through this situation many times in my career, but you never learn to feel better, so it’s not an easy moment. Also because, in the end, we’re talking about a Masters 1000 tournament, alongside the Grand Slams, they are the tournaments you want to play and do well in, but things aren’t working out this season. Now it’s time to prepare for Cincinnati, there’s no other option.”

Despite playing in his home country, Auger-Aliassime’s best result at the Canadian Open is a quarterfinal in 2022. He hasn’t won a match there since then.

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On the match itself, he commented, “Maybe we could blame pressure if I had a horrible start, but I had a good start. I don’t know, sometimes it’s true that you feel those nerves, but then, how did I manage to play well in the early games?” he added.

Auger-Aliassime observed that Marozsan “started adapting much better to the game, let’s say he found the formula to navigate it better.” He noted the opponent’s ability to hit through the wind and play high-risk tennis effectively, possibly contrasting with his own more conservative approach.

“I think if I were to replay this match, I wouldn’t do things very differently; it’s just that sometimes the opponent is too good,” he said. “It’s not easy after a week like this, where I believe I did my best during the days of training prior. I’m working on all aspects, including my strengths, but this is the challenge that sports always present to you.

You can do your best, even today I feel like I did everything possible on every point, but sometimes it’s not enough.”

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ATP French Open Grand Slam

Auger-Aliassime Reaches Career-High No. 4 After Breakthrough at Roland Garros

Auger-Aliassime rises to No. 4 after best Roland Garros run, tying second-highest Canadian rank. Now

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Felix Auger-Aliassime moved to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings following his deepest run at Roland Garros, where the 25-year-old reached the quarterfinals for the first time before losing to eventual finalist Flavio Cobolli. The result completed a personal Grand Slam milestone: having previously reached the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, he became the first Canadian man to reach the quarterfinals or better at all four majors in his career.

The rise from No. 6 to No. 4 surpasses his prior best of No. 5 and places him tied for the second-highest-ranked Canadian in ATP or WTA rankings history. The only other Canadians to reach the top four are Milos Raonic and Bianca Andreescu. Raonic went as high as No. 3 in 2016, following his run to the Wimbledon final that year, and Andreescu peaked at No. 4 in 2019 after winning the US Open.

Canadian tennis has seen seven players reach the top 10 in either ATP or WTA history, with official rankings available since 1973 for the ATP and 1975 for the WTA.

Auger-Aliassime still has ground to cover to move higher in the standings. He is 2,865 points behind the current world No. 3, Alexander Zverev, with the rankings showing Zverev at 7,305 points and Auger-Aliassime at 4,440.

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The Canadian will shift his focus to grass. He begins his grass-court season this week at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, entering as the No. 1 seed. After a first-round bye he will open against either Hubert Hurkacz or Marton Fucsovics.

The new ranking reflects a season of important progress for Auger-Aliassime and cements his place among the highest-ranked Canadians in modern tennis history.

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ATP Challenger 100 Neckarcup

Emilio Nava takes Neckarcup title after Luka Mikrut withdraws from final

Emilio Nava won the 2026 Neckarcup after Luka Mikrut withdrew from the final with shoulder pain. (1)

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Emilio Nava was awarded the 2026 Neckarcup title after Luka Mikrut withdrew from the final with a shoulder injury, handing the American his seventh ATP Challenger trophy and his first of the season.

The 24-year-old arrived in Bad Rappenau as the second seed and produced one of the tournament’s sharper displays in the semifinals, a 6-1, 6-4 win over Henri Squire that lasted 58 minutes. After that victory Nava said: “Henri had an off day today, while everything worked for me.”

Sunday’s championship match never began after Mikrut addressed the Centre Court crowd and detailed his condition. “I have severe pain in my shoulder. I tried everything with the physios, the doctor, and pain medication,” the Croatian explained. “But I was worried that playing a match could make it even worse. To beat Emilio, I would need to be at 150 percent, not just 100. I wouldn’t have been able to do that today.”

Nava acknowledged mixed feelings on lifting the trophy. “It’s a bittersweet feeling today,” Nava admitted after lifting the trophy. “But this tournament has been fantastic. The organization is outstanding, and this was definitely one of the most enjoyable weeks of the year for us. I always love playing in Germany.”

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The title continues the upward trajectory Nava has built since winning four Challenger trophies in 2025. “It was definitely my best season so far and I’m proud of what I achieved,” he said during the week. “Winning four Challenger titles is something special. But I still think my real breakthrough at ATP Tour level is ahead of me. These things don’t happen overnight.” Now World No. 87, Nava was also candid about the strength of American men on tour. “We’re just good players,” Nava joked. “Look at guys like Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Brandon Nakashima and Alex Michelsen. They’re all doing great. We get along well, but we’re also extremely competitive. We push each other every day to become better players.”

Nava splits training between Buenos Aires and Florida. “My coach is from Spain and my physio is Argentinian, so naturally I spend a lot of time around Spanish-speaking people,” he explained. Off court he said, “I love video games. Right now, I’m playing a lot of Battlefield. I also enjoy going to the beach, relaxing and spending time with friends.” He added lighter moments from the week: “We played Frisbee in the park, spent time playing video games indoors, and shared a lot of laughs with the team and the other players.” Asked about celebration plans, he laughed: “I wish there was a big party,” he laughed. “But I’ll have dinner with my team and treat myself to some ice cream.”

Nava leaves Germany with 100 ATP ranking points and €23,700 in prize money. Tournament officials praised the level of play but noted attendance was low across eight days. “The level of tennis between world rankings 100 and 200 is outstanding,” said tournament manager Metehan Cebeci. “The week was sunny, rainy, emotional and exciting,” Tournament Director Mine Cebeci said. “And on finals day, I think we can all be very satisfied.”

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ATP French Open Grand Slam

Flavio Cobolli’s Roland Garros run vaults him into ATP Top 10

Flavio Cobolli entered the ATP Top 10 after his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. New ranking

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Flavio Cobolli’s breakthrough at Roland Garros produced a major ranking milestone. The 24-year-old reached his first Grand Slam semifinal and final in Paris and, despite losing the title match to Alexander Zverev in a five-set battle, climbed from No. 14 to No. 10 in the latest ATP rankings, marking his Top 10 debut.

Cobolli is the seventh Italian to enter the ATP Top 10 since the rankings began in 1973. He is also only the second Italian man in the past 50 years to contest the Roland Garros final, joining last year’s runner-up, Jannik Sinner. Born in 2002, Cobolli is the fifth man born in 2002 or later to reach the Top 10, following Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, who were both born in 2003, and Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton, who were both born in 2002.

The route to the final carried complicated circumstances. Cobolli advanced to the title match after countryman Matteo Arnaldi withdrew before their semifinal due to illness. Cobolli reflected on the day with mixed emotions: “When [Arnaldi] came to me almost one hour ago, I almost cried,” he said. “It’s something that you don’t expect at all. I was ready to play this match. When he came, I was completely sad for him.

“But at the same time, of course I’m really happy for the result that I reached this week. My dad also came to me right before him, and we had a big hug together with the whole team for achieving the Top 10. Every time that I make the best ranking, we all together have a big hug. We did the same routine as always.

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“Yeah, now I’m sad and happy at the same time.”

Arnaldi, 25, leaps from No. 104 to No. 34 after reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal, moving to within four spots of his 2024 career-high of No. 30. Matteo Berrettini also recorded a significant rise, moving from No. 105 to No. 48 after reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2022 on the terre battue. For the former No. 6, it was his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2021, following four years marked by injury and illness withdrawals.

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