Felix Auger-Aliassime had almost forgotten how good it felt to compete before a buzzing New York crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium before his upset of Andrey Rublev in the US Open fourth round on Tuesday.
Four years had passed since he last contested a match there – not since his breakout run to his maiden and to date only Grand Slam semifinal in 2021, which he lost to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev.
During that campaign, a 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime mounted a case as the sport’s next big thing after he became the youngest men’s semifinalist at Flushing Meadows since Juan Martin Del Potro in 2009.
However, a lack of confidence, fluctuating form and injury struggles hindered the former world No.6 in his pursuit to become one of the ATP Tour’s consistent major contenders.
On Tuesday, a more confident Auger-Aliassime won through to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since Australian Open 2022 7-5 6-3 6-4.
"At 21, I was kind of on my way up. Then, to have a few setbacks, injuries, struggles with confidence, and to come back for a second time, it feels more deserved,” he said after reaching his second US Open quarterfinal. “I'm soaking up every moment.”
Felix Auger-Aliassime came into the match 0-7 against top-5 players in Grand Slams.
Tonight, he got his first. pic.twitter.com/XKBZKd5rDy— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2025
His straight-sets victory over Rublev saw the No.25 seed evoked memories of the same aggressive flair which he displayed in 2021.
He landed 13 aces to six and fired 42 winners – almost doubling Rublev’s winners count – in the straight-sets result and it marked his second win in a row against a seeded opponent, following a crucial milestone in the third round.
Auger-Aliassime’s upset of No.3 seed Alexander Zverev in the round of 32 was his first victory against a top-five opponent at a Slam.
The 25-year-old had since realised that success was no guarantee after one deep run at a major.
Maturity had helped him appreciate the small wins.
“At 21, you feel a bit like, ‘Oh, it just happens kind of naturally’, and you don't question it,” Auger-Aliassime said. “You feel like you're going to be in that position every year, or you feel like, ‘okay, was it that difficult?’
“Then you're like, ‘okay, it is difficult’, and you need to prepare, and you need to be very precise with everything you do in your work. I think I appreciate this position I'm in now to be in quarterfinals here again much more than I did a couple of years ago.”
Auger-Aliassime hopes to reach just his second Grand Slam semifinal when he faces Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Thursday.
The Montrealer has won both of their encounters on hard courts – at the Cincinnati Masters and Davis Cup final in 2022 - but De Minaur claimed the honours in Rome on clay in their most recent clash last year.
With De Minaur chasing his maiden Grand Slam semifinal on his sixth quarterfinal attempt, the Canadian is aware of the world No.8’s drive to break new ground.
“His movement is so decent, but now he comes to the net,” Auger-Aliassime said. “He has added to his game, being able to take the ball early and put pressure on his opponent – if I let him.”