By reaching the last eight at Roland Garros, Felix Auger-Aliassime emulated Matteo Berrettini by completing his Grand Slam quarterfinal set.
Auger-Aliassime, the tournament’s fourth seed, posted his first quarterfinal in seven main-draw campaigns in Paris thanks to a 6-3 7-5 6-1 win over Alejandro Tabilo at Court Philippe Chatirer.
His victory came at roughly the same time Berrettini closed out Juan Manuel Cerundolo – the player who sensationally eliminated Jannik Sinner – in straight sets at Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Berrettini was understandably fired up, given the win secured his spot in a first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2022.
Auger-Aliassime reached that stage far more recently, at last year’s US Open, yet that marked the only time in his past 16 Grand Slam appearances he had cleared the fourth round.
For two players whose Grand Slam peaks almost perfectly overlapped, opportunity knocks for both to reclaim those heights this week in a wide-open men’s draw.
At world No.6, Auger-Aliassime is the highest-ranked player remaining in the top half, while Berrettini – a former world No.6 – is the only one in that half to have reached a major final.
Should they win their next matches, they would clash in the Roland Garros semifinals.
“My best match so far in the tournament,” Auger-Aliassime declared after beating Tabilo. “It feels good to play the way that I ambition to play in this game. Today, in a Grand Slam, this is the type of matches that you want to play.
“I think now we've kind of gotten used to [the concept of an open draw], at least for my part. I think there was that big day or two days in a row, it was like Sinner lost, [Novak] Djokovic lost. It was, like, a lot of noise. But that was last week.
“Today… I don't know if it's supposed to add nerves or whatever, but I didn't feel anything different. Me playing [Flavio] Cobolli in quarters… he's 10 seed, so it's almost normal, in a way, that match-up.
“And then of course not having Sinner, for example, in semifinals is another opportunity, but you need to be there. So I have to focus on the next match and then try to be in the semifinals.”
Auger-Aliassime’s career-best performance at Roland Garros came against the form guide. He had a 4-4 win-loss record on clay in 2026 prior to Paris, and a 7-6 record since the start of March.
Yet it is even more surprising to see Berrettini at this stage.
The 30-year-old had missed the past four editions of Roland Garros due to a combination of injuries and illness and is currently ranked outside the top 100. He dipped down to the Challenger circuit at points during the claycourt season.
“I think you could see the celebration after the match. I was pumped, happy, and again, grateful,” said Berrettini, who next faces fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi. “I'm really happy and proud of myself.
“[After all my setbacks] it does make it sweeter, because I actually remember now how sad I was… I just proved to myself, once again, that I could do it, that even in the toughest moment, like, I just found the energy.
“I was lucky enough to have people around me that helped me to find the kind of energy, to find the positive vibes, the positive thoughts, which is not easy to find when you're in the darkness a little bit, when things are not coming your way, and you're struggling just to hit few balls or just struggling to compete.
“That's why I feel like this, because from the very first point until the last, I was there, I was enjoying, I was talking good to myself.”
It’s the first time Berrettini has gone this far at a Slam since the 2022 US Open.
His breakthrough came at the same tournament three years earlier, when he reached the semifinals and cracked the top 10 six weeks later.
He hit his peak in 2021-2022, reaching the quarterfinal stage or better at five consecutive Slams, appearing in the 2021 Wimbledon final, and peaking at world No.6 after AO 2022.
It was during this period Auger-Aliassime also rose to prominence.
Beginning with his first Slam quarterfinal at 2021 Wimbledon, where he lost to Berrettini, Auger-Aliassime reached that stage at three consecutive majors. His best result in that span was a semifinal at the 2021 US Open.
He joined Berrettini in the top 10 in late 2021, where both remained for a chunk of 2022.
The three subsequent seasons were tough for both, as Auger-Aliassime searched for form while Berrettini strived for fitness, the latter missing five of the past nine major tournaments.
The fact both have arrived at this point in Paris, and that their paths could converge on the Grand Slam stage once more, feels poignant.