The Happy Slam provoked extreme emotions in Felix Auger-Aliassime.
There was the elation of sweeping his first three matches in straight sets—including a win over 11th-seeded compatriot Denis Shapovalov—and the two-set lead he built in today's fourth-round match.
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And the agony Auger-Aliassime suffered as 114th-ranked Russian Aslan Karatsev roared from back from a two-set deficit stunning the Canadian 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
The Russian qualifier is the seventh man in the Open Era to reach the quarterfinals on his Grand Slam debut—and the first since Alex Radulescu at 1996 Wimbledon.
One set from a maiden major quarterfinal, Auger-Aliassime was left to confront opportunity lost.
"It's shame, it's really a shame that I couldn't get through today," Auger-Aliassime said. "It's difficult to swallow, but it's tennis, that's how it is, life, and honestly it can only help me in the future.
"It's the first time I played five sets, first time this happens to me, maybe not the last one, we'll see, but I'll just try to learn from that and be better next time."
Closure has been challenging for the 20-year-old Canadian, who has failed to win a set in dropping seven ATP finals.
"It's tough to know now honestly, what would I have changed. I didn't give up ever, I tried everything, so what can you say?" Auger-Aliassime said. "He played good, of course I wish I could have served better, but I can't just snap my fingers and it just happens. So I just got to be a better player overall to overcome these situations. I think the positive thing is mentally I stayed positive, I stayed positive, I believed until the end and even when I was down in the fifth set I still tried, I still believed.
"So, yeah, I don't know what more I can ask in the moment, just to recover now, try to see what I can improve from now on to find a way to win these matches."
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